Lead negotiators for Germany’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc are to resume talks with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) on Friday with the aim of forming a viable coalition, the three parties announced in Berlin on Wednesday.
“Hard work lies ahead of us, but we are continuing to tackle this task in a solution-oriented and constructive way,” the general secretaries of the three parties said in a joint statement.
Friday’s discussions will be based on the outcome of 16 working groups thrashing out details on main issues since March 13.
The lead negotiating group is made up of 19 representatives from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the SPD of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
CDU leader and likely future chancellor Friedrich Merz, CSU leader Markus Söder and SPD co-leaders Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken are to join the respective delegations on Friday.
The general secretaries stressed the need to lay a foundation for a viable future coalition government. “Our aim remains forming a coalition for the major tasks facing the country – for stability, economic renewal and social cohesion,” they said.
Further talks are to take place in confidentiality in the various party headquarters in Berlin. The parties aim to strike a coalition deal by the Easter holidays in April.
In the February 23 elections, the CDU/CSU alliance secured 28.5% of the vote, with the third-placed SPD managing just 16.4%.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) doubled its vote to 20.8%, but the mainstream parties are refusing to cooperate with the AfD.
Source: dpa.com
