Germany's chancellor in waiting promises an end to instability and to make the country more competitive. View on euronews

After weeks of negotiations, the conservative CDU/CSU bloc and center-left SPD presented a coalition deal to form a new government. Talks took on a sense of urgency amid a host of global and domestic challenges.

Germany's chancellor-in-waiting and leader of the Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) Friedrich Merz, Christian Social Union (CSU) leader and Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder, co-leaders of the Social Democratic party (SPD) Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil walk to attend a press conference after reaching an agreement on their coalition government in Berlin,

German conservatives under Friedrich Merz clinched a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) on Wednesday, aiming to revive growth in Europe's largest economy just as a global trade war threatens recession.

The agreement was concluded relatively quickly but still took about six and half weeks, during which the country had been virtually rudderless at a critical moment for Europe.

Germany's conservatives under Friedrich Merz reach a deal with the Social Democrats to govern Europe's biggest economy.

Merz, who called the US an unreliable ally, has already vowed to build up defence spending as Europe faces a hostile Russia.

The far right emerged for the first time as Germany’s biggest political force in an opinion poll on Wednesday, as conservative chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz rushes to form a government with the Social Democrats.