Germany’s conservatives led by election winner Friedrich Merz held first talks Friday with the Social Democrats on forming a coalition government as the country faces multiple challenges at home and abroad.

“The exploratory talks began in an open and constructive atmosphere,” Merz’s CDU/CSU alliance and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) said in a joint statement, adding that discussions would resume next week.

Finance Minister Joerg Kukies gave the participants an overview of the government finances, the parties said, adding that budget “challenges… will now be the subject of the upcoming talks.”

Merz’s alliance won the February 23 elections with 28.6 percent of the vote, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD scored a historic low of 16.4 percent.

Merz, 69, has said he wants a ruling coalition in place within two months of the vote.

However, the parties will have to resolve key differences, including the budget but also on immigration and social security.

The exploratory talks are intended to sound out the possibilities for cooperation and, if fruitful, would lead to full coalition talks.

https://guardian.ng/features/culture/german-election-winner-merz-starts-government-talks/