A coalition agreement was formally negotiated by Germany’s centrist parties on Wednesday, allowing conservative Friedrich Merz to assume the role of chancellor during a turbulent time when Europe’s economic and security order is being upended.
Mr. Merz has been under intense pressure to form a government since his Christian Democrats won the February elections, while the Trump administration threatens the NATO alliance, slaps Europe with tariffs.
Sensing the urgency, Mr. Merz took the exceptional step of using the interim period to push measures through Parliament to raise debt limits so that Germany could throw billions more at infrastructure and military spending.
The coalition agreement announced on Wednesday was the fastest since 2009, when Angela Merkel won her second term.
Nonetheless, Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has been left virtually leaderless during the multiple overlapping global crises.
