April 9 (UPI) -- Details on a political deal to form a new German coalition government will be presented Wednesday by the conservative Christian Democratic Union and the center-left Social Democratic Party of Germany.
If the deal is approved by the CDU and by grassroots members of the Social Democrats it will clear the way for Frederich Merz to be sworn in as chancellor and form a government within weeks.
Merz's conservative bloc which includes Bavaria's CSU does not require a vote to approve the coalition deal.
The new government is being formed during both an economic and a security crisis triggered by Trump administration tariffs that have sent global markets plunging and weakening of the historic military alliance as Russia continues to attack Ukraine.
Those issues as well as the rise of the far-right AfD party in Germany put pressure on the CDU and the SPD to quickly form a government that froze out the AfD.
Merz will face the economic blow of the Trump tariffs while navigating a huge increase in borrowing and spending on defense. He has vowed to end the stagnation in Germany's economy.
Details on exactly what the coalition parties have agreed upon to form the new government have yet to be released.
The far-right AfD is the largest opposition party and a Wednesday Ipsos poll showed it had a one percent edge on Merz's CDU with 25% support compared with the CDU's 24%.
AfD's co-leader claimed on X the far-right party is now "the strongest force in Germany."
