Germany’s center-left Social Democrats have voted to approve a coalition agreement. BERLIN (AP) — Germany ’s center-left Social Democrats have approved a deal to join a new coalition government, paving the way for parliament to elect conservative leader Friedrich Merz as the country’s new chancellor.

Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz is poised to lead a coalition government from next week after his junior partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), said Wednesday they had approved a deal with his conservative CDU/CSU.