By Holger Hansen and Sarah Marsh
BERLIN (Reuters) – Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) leader Olaf Scholz took a big step to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor on Friday, announcing that he and the leaders of two smaller parties aim to initiate formal talks about a coalition.
Leaders of the SPD, which came first in last month’s election, the Greens and the Liberal Democratic Party (FDP) said the exploratory talks were constructive and allowed them to set a roadmap for more formal negotiations.
Party committees are expected to vote over the weekend to decide whether the acronyms will do this, which brings them closer to a “traffic light” alliance, a reference to their respective colors, the first of its kind at the federal level.
The Greens and the FDP keep open the option of seeking out the Conservatives, who have been in power for 16 years, if negotiations with the SPD stall. Conservatives criticized the script for considering it contradictory and lacking in detail.
But polls show that the majority of voters support a semaphore alliance, and even leading conservatives have already given up on leading the next government.
“A fresh start is possible with the three parties uniting,” Scholz told a news conference.
“If parties that are so different can agree on joint challenges and solutions, this would be an opportunity to unite the country,” said FDP leader Christian Lindner.
(Additional reporting by Paul Carrel, Andreas Rinke, Holger Hansen and Maria Sheahan)
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