German Social Democrats conclude key vote on coalition deal

A large majority of the SPD approves the coalition agreement, the party leader is satisfied, but behind the scenes the power struggle for the big questions is raging.

Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) approved a coalition agreement with the conservative CDU/CSU alliance on Wednesday, giving incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz the opportunity to begin forming a coalition government.

The way is paved for a new German government after the Social Democrats voted in favor of a coalition agreement with the CDU/CSU.

The social democratic coalition party let all members vote, after which a majority of 84.6 percent voted in favor of cooperation. CDU/CSU already voted in favor of the coalition agreement earlier this week.

CDU and CSU have already lowered the coalition agreement, now the Social Democrats also agreed to the new government alliance. Members' participation was unexpectedly high.

The vote on the black-red coalition agreement is over, until shortly before midnight the SPD members were allowed to vote. The public will not know whether the path for the new government is clear until the morning.