Friedrich Merz, the likely next Chancellor of Germany, plans to present the members of his party who will take up ministerial positions in the future federal government on April 28. The announcement is set to take place at a “small party conference” of the conservative CDU party on Monday.
This plan was confirmed to Spiegel by CDU leadership. The meeting of the CDU Federal Committee—commonly referred to as the “small party conference”—is expected to conclude negotiations on the coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and the SPD. Approval by the Federal Committee is considered a formality, especially after the CSU Executive Board already endorsed the coalition deal on April 10.
Under the terms of the coalition agreement, Friedrich Merz and the CDU will secure six out of the 17 ministerial posts. These will include leadership of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Economy, Health, and Transport, as well as the Ministry of Education, Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, and the newly established Office for Digital Technologies and Government Modernization. Additionally, the CDU will appoint the Chief of the Chancellery.
SPD members are scheduled to vote on the 144-page coalition agreement by April 29. The SPD has indicated it will wait until after the agreement is approved to announce its ministerial candidates.
Following two and a half months of post-election negotiations, Friedrich Merz is slated to be officially elected as the new Chancellor of Germany on May 6, marking the start of the new federal government’s work.
