Berlin – After weeks of public bickering and quiet deals over late-night dinners, Germany soon will swear in its first female chancellor.
The nation’s political crisis eased Monday when conservatives and liberals agreed to form a coalition government around Angela Merkel, a physicist raised in the former communist East Germany. The deal crystallized when Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder announced he would step aside and allow his Social Democrats to share power with Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union, or CDU.
Germany has been in political disarray since Sept. 18 elections gave neither party a clear majority. Schroeder initially refused to concede, but the pressures of a troubled economy and an agitated public forced him to accept compromise. Schroeder and Merkel spent recent nights negotiating Cabinet posts and finessing an agreement their parties are expected to finalize by mid-November.
“We have achieved something big,” Merkel said after a morning negotiating session that assured the CDU the chancellery.
“We have set our aim to create a coalition that stands for new policies,” she said. “We want to work together for the people of this country.”
The presumed chancellor did not elaborate on foreign policy but indicated she would strengthen relations with Washington that have been strained over German opposition to the Iraq war.
“That doesn’t mean we have to agree on every issue,” Merkel said referring to the United States. “But there needs to be a good trustful relationship.”
Merkel’s ascension marks the final weeks of Schroeder’s seven years in office. An affable leader with a fondness for crisp suits and cigars, Schroeder began reforming his nation’s vast welfare state but failed to reduce high unemployment and bolster the economy. He might be remembered best for challenging President Bush on Iraq and urging Germany to move beyond the stigma of the Nazi past to become a world player.
The CDU and Social Democrat Party, or SPD, are expected to hold party conventions and endorse the agreement next month. The new Parliament takes office Oct. 18 but probably won’t vote on a chancellor until the party meetings are concluded. Schroeder will remain in office until Merkel is appointed.
