CDU delegates formally approve new "grand-coalition" agreement

BERLIN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The coalition agreement negotiated between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the German Social Democrats (SPD) and Christian Social Union (CSU) has received the formal approval of CDU delegates on Monday.

Only 27 out of 1,000 CDU party delegates in Berlin voted against a re-launch of the "grand coalition" on the basis of the government contract drafted earlier by the three parties.

Despite having to offer significant policy and personnel concessions to the SPD, the CDU's consent to the final wording of the coalition agreement was widely seen as a formality. German Chancellor and CDU leader Angela Merkel defended the paper again on Monday, emphasizing that while the party had made compromises, it had "also achieved many of its objectives."

Merkel further described the joint policy proposals included in the contract as a response to the historically relatively-weak performance of the CDU in September's national elections. The CDU leader has recently pledged to initiative a process of strategic renewal within her party, as well as to elevate a younger generation of politicians to senior positions.

"The electoral losses motivate us to provide the right answers to fears and discontent", Merkel said during a speech before the assembled CDU delegates.

Whether a new government can be formed by the CDU, CSU and SPD now hinges entirely on the outcome of an ongoing membership poll originally promised by ex-SPD leader Martin Schulz. The closely-watched outcome is scheduled to be published on Sunday, March 4th.

Influential factions within the SPD, including its Youth Organization (Juso), vehemently oppose joining what would already be Merkel's fourth governing cabinet and could hence still theoretically prevent the final coalition agreement from entering into force. Germany has been without a designated government for over five months, plunging the country into an unfamiliar phase of political uncertainty. Enditem