New German Leader Makes Deals With Opposition Party

Daily Report April 10,2025

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Germany’s coalition negotiations concluded Wednesday, marking a significant shift in the country’s political landscape as Chancellor Friedrich Merz made substantial concessions to the election-defeated Social Democratic Party (SPD) on critical policy matters including immigration, energy policy, and economic reforms.

The negotiations, spanning more than six weeks following February’s federal elections, culminated in Berlin with CDU leader Friedrich Merz and CSU head Markus Söder joining SPD leaders Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken to present their comprehensive 140-page coalition agreement.

The partnership, dubbed the ‘Black-Red’ coalition after their respective party colors, emerged after Merz dismissed any possibility of collaboration with the Alternative for Germany (AfD), despite the latter’s strong second-place finish in the elections and the SPD’s significant electoral defeat under former Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s leadership.

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By eliminating the AfD as a potential partner, Merz significantly weakened his negotiating position with the SPD, resulting in numerous concessions to left-wing demands. This decision also places his government in a precarious position, as the SPD could potentially trigger its collapse by withdrawing their parliamentary support.

Despite campaigning on a strict immigration platform to counter the AfD’s growing influence and distance himself from Angela Merkel’s open-border legacy, Merz quickly softened his stance post-election. The coalition agreement’s approach to illegal migration now relies heavily on coordinated border pushbacks with European neighbors, a strategy already facing resistance from countries like Austria.

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil reasserted that “the fundamental right to asylum remains untouchable,” suggesting continued accessibility for asylum seekers at German borders. The agreement maintains several progressive immigration policies from the previous administration, including shortened citizenship qualification periods and dual nationality provisions for non-EU migrants.

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While Merz secured some immigration-related concessions, such as removing deportation restrictions to Syria and Afghanistan, these measures had already been planned by the previous government following recent terror incidents. The agreement’s two-year pause on family reunification for subsidiary protection recipients represents a limited restriction, leaving broader chain migration policies largely intact.

The economic aspects of the agreement delivered mixed results for Merz’s center-right agenda. While securing commitments to reduce taxes for lower and middle-income earners and decrease electricity taxes to EU minimums, the controversial “solidarity surcharge” remains despite previous CDU promises to eliminate it.

Perhaps most notably, Merz abandoned his party’s campaign promise to revive nuclear power, maintaining the complete denuclearization policy implemented under Merkel’s leadership and continued by the previous government.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel criticized the coalition as a “deed of surrender” from Merz and the CDU, stating: “The paper bears the signature of the election loser SPD throughout, peppered with bows and kowtow to the Greens. The Union did not keep a single election promise, and Merz failed across the board even before his election as chancellor.”