“We have overcome some big obstacles. I didn’t leave here until 2:15, but it was worth it,” Markus Söder, president of the conservative Bavarian CSU, said in the chancellery on Friday morning.
Looking slightly tired but satisfied, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), who sat next to Söder at the press conference, echoed this sentiment.
“The coalition is capable of taking action,” the chancellor said.
In recent days there have been doubts about its ability to govern, mainly because a group of young MPs in the conservative government faction wanted to block a planned pensions bill, saying it would prove too costly for younger generations.
On the thorny issue, the coalition of Merz’s CDU, Söder’s CSU and the Social Democrats said on Friday it would not make changes to the pension bill, but would commit to a comprehensive pension reform after 2032.
Whether this will be enough for the young conservatives remains to be seen next week – that’s when the pension bill will be brought before the Bundestag.
The coalition has a majority of only 12 votes, and at least 18 Conservative members of parliament expressed strong opposition to the bill. So it could be a close vote.
For his part, Merz said he was “looking forward to the approval.”