CDU/CSU leader Friedrich Merz has said he wants a government in place by Easter to deal with multiple crises roiling Germany, but the talks will have to navigate tricky areas where the two parties clashed on the campaign trail. [Getty]
Germany’s conservatives led by election winner Friedrich Merz held first talks on Friday with the Social Democrats on forming a coalition government as the country faces multiple challenges at home and abroad.
“The exploratory talks began in an open and constructive atmosphere,” Merz’s CDU/CSU alliance and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) said in a joint statement, adding that discussions would resume next week.
Finance Minister Joerg Kukies gave the participants an overview of the government finances, the parties said, adding that budget “challenges… will now be the subject of the upcoming talks”.
Merz’s alliance won the February 23 elections with 28.6 percent of the vote, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD scored a historic low of 16.4 percent.
Merz, 69, has said he wants a ruling coalition in place within two months of the vote.
However, the parties will have to resolve key differences, including the budget but also on immigration and social security.
The exploratory talks are intended to sound out the possibilities for cooperation and, if fruitful, would lead to full coalition talks.
Such talks often drag on for weeks if not months in Germany, spelling long stretches of political paralysis before a new chancellor takes charge.
But Merz is in a hurry to reach a deal with Europe’s biggest economy facing economic malaise and an upheaval in relations with the United States under President Donald Trump.
Merz said Friday it was important to stick to an “ambitious schedule” because “the entire framework within which we conduct our policy is currently being rewritten”.
“The new government should get off to a determined start that shows Germany is taking action and that change is afoot,” he said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper.
‘Encouraging signs’
Trump has caused consternation in Europe by casting doubt on Washington’s commitment to Ukraine and its European allies, as well as by reaching out directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We are experiencing a shock and we understand that we have to do something,” Merz said.
But the conservative leader also said he saw “a lot of encouraging signs” coming from Europe in response to the shifts happening in the United States.
“For example, I am encouraged by the fact that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been working hard for weeks to align Britain with the Europeans in the EU,” he said.
Merz also reiterated his recent call for discussions on “a joint nuclear umbrella for Europe” with France and Britain.
This topic should be part of the German coalition negotiations as well as discussions “with our partners in Europe, the EU and NATO”, he said.
As the exploratory talks began, Manuela Schwesig of the SPD said both sides would “have to make concessions”.
“Everyone has to pull together and make an effort,” added Schwesig, the state premier of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Germany was plunged into political crisis in November when Scholz’s coalition with the Greens and the liberal FDP collapsed after months of infighting.
“We have to learn from this failed government,” Schwesig said. “Constant conflict harms not only those involved, but also democracy.”
Merz has ruled out working with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which came second in the election with a record score of over 20 percent.
That leaves the SPD as his only politically feasible option to form a government.
It would be the fourth time since 2000 and the fifth time in Germany’s post-war history that the parties have governed together in a so-called grand coalition, always under the leadership of the CDU/CSU.
