Germany’s conservative CDU and CSU parties, along with the social democratic SDU, will begin negotiations on Thursday to form a new governing coalition, CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann announced on Monday.
The CDU leadership voted unanimously in favour of exploratory talks with the SPD and has given the green light to start discussions. “We have no time to waste,” Linnemann emphasised.
Germans went to the polls two weeks ago. The Christian Democrats, comprising the CDU and its Bavarian sister party the CSU, secured the most votes with 28.5%. The far-right AfD came in second with 20.8%, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD suffered a significant defeat, finishing third with 16.4%.
Together, the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats hold a slim majority in the Bundestag. CDU leader Friedrich Merz, likely to be the next Chancellor, hopes to form a government before Easter.
