Olaf Scholz to Become Merkel's Successor as German Chancellor
13:13 GMT 24.11.2021 (Updated: 14:24 GMT 24.11.2021)
© MICHAEL KAPPELER
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This comes three months after the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) won the country's elections, defeating the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) that has governed for 16 years under Angela Merkel.
Olaf Scholz will become the next German chancellor after his Social Democratic Party (SPD) signed a deal with the Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) on Wednesday to form a new governing coalition.
Annalena Baerbock, the chancellor candidate for the Greens, will be foreign minister, while the party's co-leader, Robert Habeck, will be vice-chancellor. Christian Lindner, who leads the FDP, will be finance minister. Christine Lambrecht of SDP will be interior minister.
The three parties have presented their coalition agreement earlier on Wednesday. Now the SPD and FDP will reportedly hold party conferences to approve the coalition deal while the Greens will ask members to vote on it. If it is approved, the new government will be sworn in by the Bundestag in early December.
Among the new government’s top priorities is fighting the coronavirus pandemic as German hospitals are being overwhelmed due to rising COVID cases. Germany’s phase-out of the coal industry, scheduled for 2038, is also important.
Scholz, 63, has been Merkel's finance minister and vice-chancellor since 2018.
Focus on Strengthening Cooperation With Russia on Climate, Health
The new government of Germany wants to strengthen cooperation with Russia on such topics as climate and healthcare, said the coalition agreement, which describes the main lines of the political agenda of the future government.
"We want to cooperate more with Russia on topics of the future (for example, hydrogen, healthcare) and in the fight against global challenges (climate, environment)," the document, published by the Business Insider, says.
The new government of Germany is ready for a constructive dialogue with Russia and notes that Berlin's relations with Moscow are "deep and multilateral," the coalition agreement says.
The new government will proceed from a common and consistent policy towards Russia within the EU, the document says.
The parties of the future government do not mention Nord Stream 2 in the coalition agreement but note that there is no alternative to gas in the transition period.
The new government will proceed from a common and consistent policy towards Russia within the EU, the document says.
The parties of the future government do not mention Nord Stream 2 in the coalition agreement but note that there is no alternative to gas in the transition period.
