Today, the CDU’s Friedrich Merz has signed a coalition agreement with the Social Democrats. In doing so he has formalised the most spectacular betrayal of centre-right voters in modern German history. The document might as well be written in red ink, given how thoroughly the SPD has dominated the negotiations despite suffering their most catastrophic electoral defeat since the Wilhelmine era.
In a press conference announcing the agreement, a stuttering and visibly uncertain Merz thanked the leaders of the SPD for the ‘great work’ of the past weeks. This is not how an election winner proudly presents his new government. There was fear in his voice. This is precisely the outcome the far-right AfD hoped for – the CDU capitulating to a party that secured a mere 16 per cent of the vote.
The coalition agreement is a masterclass in political sleight of hand. In rhetoric, it allows Merz to claim victory with a handful of minor concessions: the abolition of the three-year ‘turbo-naturalisation’ process (though the easier path to citizenship after five years remains untouched); some tightening of family reunification policies; strengthened border controls (but only ‘in coordination with European neighbours’); and harsher sanctions for welfare recipients, potentially including complete withdrawal of benefits.
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