BERLIN: German conservatives under Friedrich Merz agreed a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) on Wednesday, aiming to revive growth in Europe's largest economy just as a global trade war threatens recession. The deal caps weeks of haggling between chancellor-in-waiting Merz and the SPD after he topped elections in February but fell well short of a majority, with the far-right Alternative for Germany surging into second place. The conservative CDU-CSU bloc and the SPD were set to present their agreement to form a new government, the CSU party said.
Merz, who called Trump's US an unreliable ally, has already vowed to build up defence spending as Europe faces a hostile Russia and to support businesses struggling with high costs and weak demand. He has also pledged to get tougher on migration, moving Germany away from a more liberal immigration policy under his conservative predecessor Angela Merkel during the 2015 European migrant crisis. The coalition deal must still be ratified by a vote of the SPD's membership. — Reuters
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