German parties to present coalition deal on Wednesday

BERLIN - The leaders of three German parties will present their deal to form a coalition government on Wednesday that will see Social Democrat Olaf Scholz replace conservative Angela Merkel as chancellor, according to an invitation distributed by the SPD.

The news conference scheduled at 3 pm local time (1400 GMT) will follow a final round of talks between the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), the ecologist Greens and the libertarian Free Democrats (FDP), the SPD said in the invitation.

The deal between the three parties will install the first three-way federal coalition government in Germany since the 1950s and oust Merkel's conservatives after 16 years in power.

The three-way alliance - named a traffic light coalition after the parties' respective colours - has pledged to modernize Europe's largest economy by upgrading its infrastructure and accelerating measures to protect the climate. 

Reuters