Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) have approved a deal to join a new coalition government with the CDU/CSU conservatives, paving the way for conservative leader Friedrich Merz to be confirmed as the country’s new chancellor next week.
The centre-left party of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz will join a coalition led by Merz’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), which won Germany’s election in February with 28.5% of the vote.
