国际英语新闻:German SPD party approves coalition deal with Merkel's conservatives

BERLIN, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) approved the party's deal with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives on forming a "grand coalition" government, results of a binding members' ballot showed on Saturday.

The approval clears the way for Germany's two biggest parties to rule Europe's biggest economy for the next four years.

About 76 percent of all the valid ballots cast were in favor of a grand coalition with Merkel's conservative bloc of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), SPD treasurer Barbara Hendricks told a press conference.

SPD chief Sigmar Gabriel said the party has "set a new standard" in terms of member participation and is "not only the oldest but also the most modern party" in Germany, adding that "it's been a long time since I was so proud to be a Social Democrat."

Merkel congratulated Gabriel on the positive outcome of the vote and is looking forward to working with the SPD in a grand coalition, news magazine Spiegel reported on Saturday.

CDU General Secretary Hermann Groehe also congratulated the SPD, saying the CDU is "pleased to see that the joint government work can now quickly start."

"The coalition agreement makes a good foundation to ensure that Germany remains successful and people will live a even better life in the next four years," Spiegel quoted Groehe as saying.

The line-up of the 15-member cabinet will be announced by the leaders of the three parties on Sunday. Negotiators of coalition talks had said the CDU and the SPD will get six ministerial posts each, and the CSU will take three.

Local media quoted party sources as saying that Gabriel would be vice chancellor and "super-minister" on economy and energy issues, putting him in charge of Germany's green energy transition, while Frank-Walter Steinmeier would be foreign minister, a post he served during Merkel's first term from 2005-2009.

Meanwhile, local paper Rheinische Post said Friday that CDU veteran Wolfgang Schaeuble would remain as finance minister.

Merkel will be reelected chancellor in a vote in the lower house of parliament on Tuesday and the new government will then be sworn into office.

END OF POLITICAL LIMBO

And thus Germany has a new government at last. The SPD approval put an end to more than two months of political limbo after the Sept. 22 elections when Merkel's CDU and CSU bloc proved to be the biggest winner with 41.5 percent of votes, while the SPD took 25.7 percent.

However, without a majority of the parliament seats, the CDU/CSU bloc had to form a coalition with the center-left SPD as in Merkel's 2005-2009 first term.

Such a grand coalition is supported by most Germans, as a poll for public broadcaster ZDF published Friday showed that 49 percent of Germans welcome a grand coalition while 33 percent opposed it.