Bruised by its worst election result in the post-war era, the SPD had planned to revamp itself in opposition and only agreed to the coalition talks reluctantly. In a message posted alongside a photo of Schulz and other SPD negotiators smiling, the SPD negotiators wrote: “Tired but happy. Newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung said Schulz would quit as SPD leader and parliamentary floor leader Andrea Nahles was ready to take over. Hamburg Mayor Olaf Scholz is slated to take over as finance minister, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. The conservative bloc and the SPD began talks about renewing their alliance after Merkel’s coalition talks with two smaller parties collapsed last November.

Source: bd News24 February 07, 2018 11:48 UTC