Berlin announces coalition deal
Germany has come a decisive step closer to getting a new government. Negotiators from the CDU, CSU and SPD have agreed on common goals and presented a coalition deal. Now the respective party committees just have to vote on it. The beginning of May is being floated as a possible date for the Bundestag to elect a new chancellor. Europe's press takes stock.
Things are finally looking up
Merz is giving Germany new hope, Le Temps notes:
“By successfully convincing the SPD and the Greens of the need to relax the debt brake - the totem of German austerity policy that has long paralysed investment - he has put the country in a position to modernise and project itself into a more prosperous future. From Gerhard Schröder to Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz, the last few chancellors neglected to invest in Germany's now obsolete infrastructure, relying instead on a combination of exports and cheap Russian gas to maintain a comfortable standard of living. German industry is now eager to finally benefit from a framework that is truly worthy of the name.”
Centrist government will only strengthen AfD
Lidové noviny sees a new edition of the grand coalition as disastrous:
“Ever since Angela Merkel took office in 2005, the competition between left and right has disappeared from society. ... And so it's not surprising that a poll conducted on the day the coalition agreement was signed showed that the AfD is now the most popular party in Germany. ... If the AfD is allowed to stand for election but not to join a coalition, 20 percent of the votes are flushed down the toilet. ... If the victorious Merz has to accept the left-wing formulas of his SPD partners when forming a coalition, this can only lead to voters growing even angrier and support for the AfD becoming even stronger.”
Ominous concessions on migration
The Irish Times sees the deal as a typical compromise:
“There's a bit in it for each of the parties, their ideological differences papered over. It promises to lower energy prices to boost competitiveness, increase the minimum wage, reform what the CDU sees as overgenerous welfare, introduce incentives to lift EV sales, and make tax cuts for corporations. ... European allies will be more worried about the migration stance, an ominous nod by both parties to the electoral threat of the nationalist far-right. Angela Merkel's open borders policy is now firmly buried.”
Dawn of a new conservative era
For the Süddeutsche Zeitung this is
“the start of a new era for Christian democrats and conservatives in Europe. They already constitute a majority of political leaders, a majority in the European Parliament and - in the person of Ursula von der Leyen - the president of the Commission. Now more than ever European politics will focus on reviving the economy and generally conveying a sense of security, both in Europe and around the world. This will be reflected in an even more restrictive migration policy. ... The same goes for climate protection, which in future is to play a subordinate role to the economy. There may be good reasons to view both trends as retrograde. Nevertheless they clearly mirror the will of the majority in Europe.”
Disciplined in the crisis
The coalitionists have united quickly under pressure, the Aargauer Zeitung is pleased to see:
“The fact that the talks went quickly and smoothly overall is probably due not least to the ubiquitous sense of crisis. ... As paradoxical as it may seem: the crisis has helped Merz. His secret allies were US President Donald Trump, whose tariffs stand to hit Germany as an export nation particularly hard, and the AfD, which in one poll actually came out ahead of the CDU/CSU. All this seems to have had a disciplinary effect on the negotiations. The Social Democrats also seem to have realised that something needs to change if the country is not to slip into ungovernability. ”
What about foreign policy?
For La Repubblica, too little has been agreed on one critical area:
“Together with the SPD leadership, the future chancellor signed a 144-page coalition agreement that is intended to set the course for the next four years of stormy sailing - stormy especially in the waters of foreign policy. But it is precisely this issue that remains the big absentee in the talks between the two parties of the former 'grand' coalition.”
Germany can play a leading role again
El País sees the future chancellor in a stable starting position:
“Merz's advantage is that he made the big decision that will determine his term of office three weeks ago, when the outgoing Bundestag reformed the constitution to allow Germany to go into debt. ... The reform gives him unprecedented room for manoeuvre, which will allow him to revive the economy and rearm the nation. ... The coalition agreement is modest, but that should not prevent Europe's largest economy and most populous country from playing its full role in the Union. In the world of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, this is more important than ever.”
Neoliberalism lite
For Zeit Online the proposed reforms at least point in the right direction:
“The coalition has opted for what one might call a soft neoliberalism, which can be cushioned by extensive government spending programmes. This is the compromise that the two parties have been able to agree on. In view of the situation in Germany and across the world, this is not the worst compromise. ... It means that if US President Donald Trump doesn't go completely insane, Germany could end its economic stagnation phase. But whether this will be enough to be competitive internationally and prevent the rise of radical forces remains open.”
Merz orphaning conservative voters
The Spectator sees too many concessions to the SPD:
“When mainstream conservatives betray their principles, they don't convert their voters to progressivism - they orphan them politically, leaving them susceptible to radical alternatives. ... Merz had positioned himself as the saviour who would restore his party's conservative credentials after years of Merkelian drift. He has instead revealed himself as just another spineless politician, willing to sacrifice principle for power. For Germany's disillusioned centre-right voters, today's signing ceremony isn't just another coalition agreement - it's a funeral for the political home they once knew.”