BERLIN, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The leaders of Germany's main parties on Friday signed the agreement to form the first left-right government since the late 1960s.
"Over the next 10 years, the grand coalition wants to bring Germany back into the top three in Europe," designated Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the ceremony in Berlin. "In 2009, the key question Germans will ask themselves will be -- are we better off than we were in 2005?"
To get a positive answer, the grand coalition of Christian Democrats/Christian Socialists and Social Democrats -- longtime rivals -- will have to spark economic growth and help large parts of the 4.7 million jobless back into employment.
Apart from Merkel, new Social Democrat Chairman Matthias Platzeck and Christian Social leader Edmund Stoiber signed the 190-page long treaty. The deal has Merkel become Germany's first woman chancellor. She is set to officially take office next Tuesday, after a vote in Germany's lower house of parliament.
Outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was not present at the ceremony.
Experts say the grand coalition will not be restricted to their pre-government agreements, however.
"I believe the coalition treaty will play a lesser role than many expect," Gerd Langguth, Political expert at Bonn University, told German news channel Phoenix. "Politics are a day-to-day business and several key reforms of the past were not included in any coalition treaty."
