German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has unveiled a new coalition deal between the country’s two major centrist parties in a bold and optimistic speech in Berlin on Wednesday, hours after it was announced that an agreement to form a new government had been reached.

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.

Friedrich Merz and his conservative Christian Democratic Union must now persuade Germans that he can fix the economy and get immigration under control.

Germany’s two major centrist parties have reached a coalition deal, the culmination of weeks of negotiations after the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) emerged as winner in February’s federal election.

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.

Friedrich Merz is on course to become Germany's 10th post-World War II chancellor, the culmination of a long political career that was once sidelined by his party’s iconic leader, Angela Merkel

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 attend a press conference after reaching an agreement on their coalition government in Berlin,

Friedrich Merz, Germany's likely next chancellor, said U.S. President Donald Trump's pause of tariffs for 90 days was evidence of a united European approach to trade having a positive effect, and called for tariff-free U.

German conservatives under Friedrich Merz agreed a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) on Wednesday, aiming to revive growth in Europe's largest economy.