Olaf Scholz moves closer to succeeding Merkel as German chancellor

Social Democrat Olaf Scholz moved closer to becoming German chancellor on Wednesday after agreeing on a coalition deal that aims to modernise Europe's largest economy, accelerate its green transition and bring the curtain down on the Angela Merkel era. The centre-left Social Democrats (SPDR) said they would present their three-way agreement with the ecologist Greens and the libertarian Free Democrats (FOP) at a news conference at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) in Berlin following two months of talks, reports Reuters.