Berlin's Bundestag completed the final procedural ratification of Friedrich Merz's cabinet on Wednesday, formally installing Germany's new grand coalition government after weeks of intensive negotiations between the CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democrats. The vote, which passed with a comfortable majority reflecting the coalition's combined seat count, marks the end of a prolonged post-election transition period and the beginning of a new chapter in German federal governance.

Merz, who was elected Chancellor in late February following the CDU/CSU's strong showing in the February 2026 federal election, used the occasion to present his government's legislative priorities to the assembled Bundestag. Chief among them are a sweeping economic competitiveness package aimed at reducing energy costs for German industry, tightened migration controls along the lines promised during the campaign, and a substantial increase in defence spending to meet NATO's two-percent GDP target.

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil, who negotiated the coalition agreement, addressed parliament defending the party's decision to enter government despite its diminished electoral standing. He emphasised that the SPD had secured key concessions on minimum wage increases and housing investment, arguing the party would serve as a moderating force on the Merz administration's more conservative impulses.

The formal installation drew protests outside the Reichstag from both the far-left and far-right opposition, with AfD and BSW members of parliament delivering sharp speeches denouncing the grand coalition as a repeat of what they characterised as failed centrist governance. The Greens, also in opposition, called the coalition agreement insufficiently ambitious on climate policy and pledged to scrutinise each piece of legislation rigorously.

Analysts in Berlin noted that the new government faces immediate tests, including an autumn state election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and mounting pressure from Brussels over Germany's fiscal position. With the coalition agreement formally in force, Merz's administration is expected to introduce its first major legislative package to the Bundestag before the summer recess.