(Adnkronos) – The Christian Social Union, Csu, one of the three political partners of the future German government coalition, will hold a vote today on the government agreement reached together with the Cdu, the Christian Democratic Union of Friedrich Merz, and the Spd, the Social Democratic Party, and presented yesterday in Berlin. The steering committee of the Bavarian Csu is expected to approve the agreement between the center-right bloc and the Social Democratic Party (Spd) for the formation of a new executive; party leader Markus Soeder, premier of Bavaria, will announce the outcome this afternoon.
The potential partners finalized the deal yesterday after weeks of negotiations following the February 23 parliamentary elections, and Cdu leader Friedrich Merz is set to replace Olaf Scholz as chancellor. The government program, a 144-page document, envisages cuts to social spending, bureaucracy and development funds, but also a minimum wage of 15 euros an hour and the establishment of a National Security Council to streamline decision-making on defense matters.
The agreement must be approved by all three parties before the new government can take office. The Spd will hold an online vote of its 358,000 members starting Tuesday. The vote is expected to last two weeks and conclude on April 29. Spd general secretary Matthias Miersch called on members to “take responsibility” and approve the deal. Despite calls for a similar procedure from the Cdu, Merz’s party will vote on the deal at a small party congress on April 28. If the bases of the three parties approve the agreement, as expected, the Merz administration will likely be formed in early May.
