German Parties Reach Coalition Deal To End Merkel Era

According to 177-page agreement struck after two months of talks, the three parties want to accelerate public investment in green technology and digitalisation while returning to strict debt limits from 2023 onwards.

German Social Democrat Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday he had reached a deal with the Free Democrats and Greens to form a new coalition government that will bring the curtain down on the Angela Merkel era.

According to 177-page agreement struck after two months of talks, the three parties want to accelerate public investment in green technology and digitalisation while returning to strict debt limits from 2023 onwards.

The deal will install Germany's first federal coalition between the Social Democrats (SPD), libertarian Free Democrats (FDP) and the ecologist Greens, and end 16 years of Merkel-led conservative government, marking a new era for relations with Europe and the rest of the world.

"We want to dare to make more progress," Scholz told a news conference in Berlin, flanked by the FDP and Greens leaders. "We will massively invest in Germany to keep it at the forefront."