BERLIN: German lawmakers will gather in early May to elect Friedrich Merz as chancellor after his conservative bloc sealed a coalition agreement with the main centre-left party, the Bundestag said on Monday. The president of the assembly, Julia Kloeckner, was "preparing to convene the German Bundestag for the election of the federal chancellor... on Tuesday, May 6", parliament said in a statement. The date was "subject to the parties' approval of the coalition agreement" and Merz's nomination by the German federal president, the parliament said.
Both steps are expected to be a formality after Merz's conservative bloc, the CDU/CSU, and his future governing partners, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), settled on a road map for government last week.
Senior figures within the SPD have criticised Merz for casting doubt over the timeline for an increase to the minimum wage to 15 euros ($17) written into the coalition deal. Merz caused a stir with his claim that a planned cut to income tax for lower and middle income earners was "not set in stone" and depended on having room in the government's budget. — AFP
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