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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
John Kampfner

Germany is finally getting a new government – and it will be plunged straight into crisis mode

Markus Soeder, Friedrich Merz, Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken after reaching an agreement for a new coalition government, Berlin, Germany, 9 April 2025
Markus Söder, Friedrich Merz, Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken after reaching an agreement for a new coalition government, Berlin, Germany, 9 April 2025. Photograph: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

Germany is about to get a new fitness trainer. So declared Markus Söder, one of the political leaders who have just announced a coalition agreement. In one of the quirks of the country’s constitution, the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) will play a significant role in the new administration, and Söder used his moment in the limelight to play the entertainer.

It was a curious way to announce the arrival of a new government, expected to be sworn in during the first week of May. Since the elections of 23 February, Germany will have been in limbo for two and a half months, and all while Donald Trump rampages across the world.

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