Germany: SDPG supported the creation of a coalition with the CDU/XSS

The Social Democratic Party of Germany supported the creation of a coalition with the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian-Social Union-the Bloc of the current Chancellor Angel Merkel. It is reported by Deutsche Welle.

In early February, the leaders of the CDU/CSS and SDPG agreed on the text of the coalition agreement. However, the leaders of the Social Democrats set a condition according to which the document will be signed only if it is approved by ordinary members of the party.

The vote, in which almost 380 thousand members of the SDPG took part, continued by mail from February 20 to March 2. 66.02 percent of the Social Democrats spoke for the formation of the coalition with the CDU/CSS.

Now the obstacles to the formation of the new government of Germany are eliminated.

According to the coalition agreement, the CDS and SDPG will receive an equal number of ministerial portfolios - six. Three more ministries will be headed by members of the CSS.

Although in the Bundestag elections, which took place on September 24, 2017, the Social Democrats gained much fewer votes than the CDU, obtaining equal to Christian democrats of the number of portfolios became the condition for the entry of SDPG to the coalition. At the same time, it is stipulated that the Social Democrats will lead a number of key ministries: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor and Social Support.

Merkel has headed Germany for three consecutive terms - since 2005. Since 2013, the country has been ruled by just the "large coalition" of the CDS/CSS and SDPG. Although the September elections of the HDS/CSS also won, the office was not able to form a cabinet for several months : the Social Democrats announced the transition to the opposition. If, in the end, the members of the "Big Coalition" failed to come to an agreement, new, early elections to the Bundestag would be appointed.