Germany’s Friedrich Merz has reached a deal to form a coalition government, bringing the conservative leader closer to the chancellery at a time of acute geopolitical and economic challenges for Europe’s largest democracy.
Merz promised to put Germany “back on track” as he unveiled the agreement on Wednesday together with his junior partners, the Social Democrats (SPD). The incoming chancellor acknowledged the deep global “turbulence” since US President Donald Trump last week unleashed a trade war that has raised fears of a global recession.
The leader of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) said that the best response to the shock of Trump’s sweeping tariffs was to restore German competitiveness and strengthen the country’s role in the European Union to enable a powerful co-ordinated response.