(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).
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