BERLIN

By AFP
March 09, 2025
The leader of Germany´s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party Friedrich Merz (R) is seen at a parliamentary building in Berlin on March 7, 2025. — AFP
The leader of Germany´s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party Friedrich Merz (R) is seen at a parliamentary building in Berlin on March 7, 2025. — AFP 

BERLIN: Germany’s conservative election winner Friedrich Merz came a step closer Saturday towards forming a government which he has pledged will revive Europe’s top economy and its armed forces with massive new spending. 

The bold moves are part of his plan to rebuild Berlin’s standing in Europe, which Merz has said must respond to the sweeping changes driven by US President Donald Trump that have rocked the transatlantic alliance. 

Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democrats (SPD) of defeated Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday announced they had wrapped up exploratory talks and would now move onto the next, decisive stage of full-fledged coalition negotiations.