Germany’s Greens say deal ready for 3-party coalition

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Greens say a three-party agreement to form the next government will be presented Wednesday. The center-left Social Democrats have been negotiating with the Green party and the pro-business Free Democrats since narrowly winning a national election on Sept. 26. If approved by party members in the coming weeks, the three-way alliance would replace the current grand coalition of Social Democrats and outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats. Merkel, who didn’t run for a fifth term, is likely to be succeeded by current Finance Minister Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats. The negotiations over the unprecedented three-way alliance were relatively harmonious and speedy compared to previous coalition talks.