SPD votes 'yes' to coalition: Germany to have new government within weeks

CNN)German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to form a new government, after the Social Democratic Party voted to renew a coalition with her Christian Democrats, ending months of political deadlock.

The postal ballot saw 66.02% vote yes (239,604 voters) and 33.98% vote no (123,329 voters) to the grand coalition, SPD treasurer Dietmar Nietan announced Sunday.

Ministry positions will be announced in the next few weeks and the new government could be in place by the end of March, almost six months after the federal election on September 24 saw both parties lose a record number of votes and left few coalition options for Merkel.

Chancellor Merkel will now enter her fourth term in office, a position she has held since 2005.

Merkel's future is in the hands of a 28-year old named Kevin

More than 460,000 SPD members were eligible to vote on the coalition deal reached by the two parties last month.

How did we get here?

Germany's September 2017 election was supposed to be an easy victory for Merkel's CDU, and she was expected to cruise to her fourth term in office as Chancellor.

Instead, voters revolted against the status quo. Both CDU and the SPD barely maintained their status as Germany's top parties, suffering record losses and losing millions of votes to the far-right nationalist party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), which took nearly 13% of the vote.

Months of painful negotiations

The surprise result spurred months of painful negotiations, as Merkel's party tried to hammer out a coalition agreement.

After coalition talks between the CDU, the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Green Party collapsed in November, a renewal of the so-called Grand Coalition (or "GroKo") was the only remaining multiparty option.

Former SPD leader Martin Schulz had ruled out a new GroKo, but was forced into negotiations as the alternative prospect of new elections loomed.

Widely blamed for the turmoil within his party since the election, Schulz stepped aside last month. Andrea Nahles, a former minister of labor and social affairs, is likely to be confirmed as the party's first ever female leader at a party conference in April.

News Courtesy: www.cnn.com