German parties sign coalition deal for new Scholz government

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s incoming governing parties have signed their agreement for what they portray as a progressive coalition, a day before Olaf Scholz is due to succeed longtime leader Angela Merkel as chancellor. The agreement hammered out last month between Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats, the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats received strong backing over recent days from the three parties’ members. That cleared the way for Scholz to be elected on Wednesday in parliament, where the coalition — which has never yet been tried in a national government — has a solid majority. The 177-page coalition agreement is titled “Venture More Progress” — a theme that the coalition’s leaders hammered home at Tuesday’s signing ceremony.