Start of Germany's Left-Right Coalition Government Negotiations: "Aim to Form Government by End of April"

Merz's CDU-CSU Begins Negotiations with Scholz's SPD
Tough Talks Expected Due to Merz's Shift to the Right
Wide Differences Remain on Immigration Issues

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) alliance, which emerged as the largest party in the German federal parliamentary election, announced that it will enter coalition government negotiations with the current ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD). The coalition government is expected to be formed by the end of April at the earliest.

Reuters Yonhap News

According to the UK Financial Times (FT), Friedrich Merz, CDU leader, held a press conference at the Berlin party headquarters on the 24th (local time) and said, "We will strive to form a government by around Easter (April 20) through constructive and swift talks with the SPD."

In the previous day's general election results, the CDU-CSU alliance was allocated 208 seats, and the SPD received 120 seats, with the total number of seats (328) exceeding half of the total membership (630 members) of the parliament.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured the second-largest number of seats with 152, but due to a far-right firewall, the possibility of their participation in the coalition is extremely low. German parties reject all cooperation, including coalition formation, with the AfD, claiming it undermines democracy.

The Green Party (85 seats) and the Left Party (64 seats) are ideologically distant from the centrist-conservative CDU-CSU and have fewer seats, making the SPD the emerging coalition partner for the CDU-CSU alliance.

Olaf Scholz, the SPD incumbent chancellor seeking re-election, acknowledged defeat and stated he would not participate in coalition negotiations or serve in the next government, increasing the likelihood of a coalition with the SPD. Markus S?der, CSU leader, previously said that a coalition with the SPD would be possible if Chancellor Scholz stepped aside.

This is not the first grand coalition between the CDU-CSU alliance, representing the right and left of German politics, and the SPD. The two parties have joined hands four times so far. Notably, Chancellor Scholz (SPD) served as Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister in Angela Merkel's (CDU) fourth cabinet. If a coalition government led by the CDU-CSU alliance is formed, it will mark the return of a conservative-leaning government for the first time in over three years since former CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel stepped down in December 2021.

The two parties are expected to begin negotiations on the policy direction of the next government starting today. The CDU-CSU is likely to focus on a pro-business economic agenda, including tax cuts, welfare, and deregulation. Merz, considered conservative even within the CDU, advocates a tough immigration policy and a pro-business stance. The SPD is expected to maintain its position on social spending, which includes plans to secure a minimum pension level, according to the FT.

Immigration issues are also expected to become a source of conflict. Merz and Scholz clashed over immigration policy during the election campaign. The CDU-CSU alliance, which became the largest party, pledged to completely close the borders and immediately turn back immigrants at the border.

In addition, Merz faces choices that could bring changes to national governance, such as reforming the debt brake to allow freer public investment, securing funding to expand defense spending, and increasing defense contributions to the European Union (EU).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.