German coalition strikes budget deal after crisis

(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, JUL 5 - The three parties in Germany's ruling coalition struck an agreement Friday on the 2025 budget after weeks of tough talks that pushed Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government to the brink of collapse. Scholz's centre-left Social Democrats and their partners, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, reached a deal after a final round of haggling that started Thursday, a source close to the coalition said. The government has faced repeated rows since taking office in 2021 but analysts feared the budget crisis, with supporters of austerity clashing with those wanting more spending, could have been the final straw. There was relief among coalition lawmakers that the coalition had weathered the crisis intact. "I think it would have been completely irresponsible in view of the world situation if the government had fallen apart now," said Anton Hofreiter, a Green party lawmaker and chairman of the German parliament's European affairs committee. Germany has a "great responsibility" towards Europe, he added. (ANSA-AFP).