The CDU has approved the coalition agreement with the SPD. The agreement was adopted with a large majority at the small party conference in Berlin on Monday. This paves the way for a new black-red federal government and a Chancellorship of CDU chief Friedrich Merz, with only the result of the SPD member vote remaining. The CSU had already approved the coalition paper over two weeks ago.
Among the Social Democrats, the vote is likely to be less clear-cut than in the Union. The Jusos had already announced that they would reject the agreement. They criticize, in particular, the planned approach to migration policy and in the fields of work and social affairs. There was also discontent among the SPD base about the proposal to abolish the eight-hour day. The member vote ends on Tuesday evening, one minute before midnight.