Merkels CDU agrees with big coalition

berlin - The CDU has approved the coalition agreement with the SPD by a large majority. On the party day in Berlin, only 27 of the nearly one thousand delegates voted against the formation of a new big coalition. Whether or not there is now only depends on the Social Democrats. Members of the SPD can currently express their preference. The results will be announced on 4 March. The Bavarian Christian Democrats of the CSU had already given the green light.

Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the outcome of the negotiations with the SPD before the vote. 'We fought hard, we had to compromise, but we also won a lot,' said the CDU leader. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is the new general secretary of the party. The 55-year-old Prime Minister of Saarland succeeds Peter Tauber, who gave up the job for health reasons.