The agreement between centrist parties, led by the likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, was billed as a response to America’s shrinking security guarantees.

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz reached an agreement with the Green party on a debt-funded spending package for defense and infrastructure, overcoming a key hurdle ahead of a crunch vote in parliament next week.

Germany’s election-winning center-right Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union, led by Friedrich Merz, and the Social Democrats have reached a preliminary agreement with the Green Party on a deal to exclude defense spending from the country’s constitutional debt break and establish a dedicated $545 billion fund for infrastructure investments.