German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius is to retain his post in the new Cabinet, his Social Democratic Party (SPD) said Monday, as the party unveiled its picks for ministerial positions.
The SPD is set to enter the new German Government as the junior partner in coalition with Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc, made up of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU).
The partners were to sign off on the 144-page coalition agreement at 12 p.m. (1000 GMT) on Monday, before Merz can be elected Germany’s new chancellor by parliament on Tuesday.
The conservatives emerged as the winner from February’s parliamentary elections, followed by the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), which was designated as a “confirmed right-wing extremist’’ organisation by domestic intelligence last week.
The SPD, traditionally one of the two main political forces in Germany, fell to third place after a difficult period in office under the leadership of outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz.
With centrist parties ruling out cooperation with the AfD, a policy known as the “firewall’’, a coalition between the CDU/CSU alliance and the SPD became inevitable in spite of the clashes.
They clashed on the issues such as migration and the economy during the election campaign.
SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil was to become vice chancellor and finance minister after striking up a strong partnership with Merz during negotiations to form a coalition.
Four of the incoming SPD ministers are women: Bärbel Bas as labour minister, Verena Hubertz for construction, Reem Alabali-Radovan as development minister and Stefanie Hubig taking on the justice portfolio.
Carsten Schneider was to be the SPD’s new environment minister, but there was no place in the Cabinet for Klingbeil’s colleague as co-leader, Saskia Esken.
Pistorius, widely seen as the SPD’s most popular politician, was the only member of the outgoing Cabinet to keep his position.
“The SPD is putting together a team that is ready to boldly shape our country,’’ the party’s leadership said in a joint statement on Monday.
“Experienced personalities from federal and state politics meet new faces who stand for the generational change in the SPD.’’
The conservatives outlined their choices last week, with Katherina Reiche as economy minister and the CSU’s Alexander Dobrindt taking the interior portfolio.
Once Merz is elected and his Cabinet sworn in, the new administration can get to work, exactly six months after Scholz’s centre-left coalition imploded amid in-fighting, triggering early elections.
It faced a long list of pressing challenges, from Germany’s ailing economy and crumbling infrastructure of the threat to European security from Russia and an ever-more abrasive U.S. president.
Scholz, meanwhile, was to receive an official send-off later on Monday, with a special military ceremony known as a tattoo to be held in his honour in Berlin. (dpa/NAN)
