German election winner Merz stresses need for quick coalition deal

Berlin [Germany], February 26: Germany's conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz, whose centre-right bloc won the country's election on Sunday, said the country needs swift coalition talks to form a new government as quickly as possible.
Merz is almost certain to replace Scholz as the country's next chancellor after his Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), finished first with 28.5% of the vote. His party is widely expected to form a coalition with outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), who slipped to third in the results with just 16.4% of the vote.
"The issues are pressing, they cannot tolerate any delay and that is why I believe it is important that we enter into talks quickly now," Merz said in Berlin on Tuesday.
He set a goal of finalizing a coalition deal by Easter, but said clarity and agreement must be struck quickly on three major issues in particular: on defence policy and spending, on migration and on economic policy to boost the country's stagnant economy.
Earlier in the day, Merz visited Chancellor Olaf Scholz for initial talks, arriving at the Chancellery in Berlin for discussions that are believed to have centred around the transition phase before the formation of the next government.
Source: Qatar Tribune