Germany crises: Merkel's conservatives, SPD agree coalition blueprint

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) on Friday agreed to a blueprint for formal coalition negotiations.

The agreement on a blueprint between party and parliamentary leaders for formal negotiations could pave the way for terminating months of political uncertainty in Germany which were in existence post the September polls.

On Thursday, Merkel had said that the talks would be "tough" but that she was hopeful that the parties would conclude the preliminary round by Friday, reported the local media.

After 24-hours of talks, the six leaders began presenting the 28-page blueprint to party members.

Social Democratic Party (SDP) Martin Schulz had previously ruled out entering into another "grand coalition" with Merkel after his party suffered its worst ever result in the federal elections in September.

Merkel has ruled with the SPD in two of her three terms in office, including in the last parliament from 2013-2017. A re-run of their partnership is not yet certain, according to the reports.

The final obstacle is set to be the SPD party conference on January 21 in Bonn, where party members are to vote on whether enough progress has been made to start formal coalition negotiations.

--ANI