Two months after winning the elections, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has finally reached an agreement with opponents of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) to form a "grand coalition" government. However, the agreement between the conservatives of the CDU/CSU and the SPD will now have to be approved by militant social democrats in a referendum scheduled for early December, the outcome of which remains uncertain. If the green light arrives, Merkel should be elected by the Bundestag for a third four-year term on 17 December.
"This is a package of measures that we can present to our militants and to which we can say yes," said SPD secretary general Andrea Nahles of the coalition agreement. Indeed, Merkel has made several concessions to overcome the reluctance of militant social democrats to ally with right-wing parties.
Nahles especially emphasized that he got the creation of a minimum wage, starting from 2015, of 8,50 euros per hour. According to various sources, however, the salary should only be applied to all sectors starting from 2017, and many details still remain to be clarified. The Social Democrats had made the adoption of this measure of their electoral program a key condition for any coalition agreement. According to the Diw Economic Institute, 5,6 million people, equal to 17% of German workers, today earn less than 8,50 euros.
The Social Democrats also got a plan for improve low-wage pensions, with the possibility of leaving work at 63, instead of 67, for employees who have had 45 years of contributions. Finally, the SPD wrested one of its main requests of a social nature: the possibility of granting the dual citizenship for children of foreigners born in Germany.
"The result obtained is positive for our country, it largely bears the imprint of the Christian Democrats", claimed the general secretary of the CDU, Hermann Groehe, underlining that he had avoided the tax increase originally requested by the Social Democrats.
