BERLIN, May 5. /TASS/. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will remain in office following the decision of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which has finalized a list of its representatives to take ministerial posts in the country’s new government, the Bild newspaper reported, citing sources.
The Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) will each receive seven ministerial posts in the new cabinet. Earlier it was reported that SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil will be the next finance minister and vice chancellor. Former judge Stefanie Hubig will be appointed as minister of justice, while Baerbel Bas, ex-president of the Bundestag (the German parliament), will become the new minister of labor and social affairs in the next federal government.
Former Parliamentary State Secretary for East Germany Carsten Schneider is set to lead the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection. Deputy Chairwoman of the SPD parliamentary group Verena Hubertz is expected to be appointed minister of housing, urban development and construction, and SPD member of the Bundestag Reem Alabali-Radovan has been proposed as minister of economic cooperation and development. In addition, politician Elisabeth Kaiser is slated to become minister of state and federal government commissioner for migration, refugees and integration, and SPD party member Natalie Pawlik is to assume the post of minister of state and federal government commissioner for Eastern Germany.
Later on Monday, the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the alliance of two conservative political parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), will finalize a coalition agreement that will form the basis for the work of the new German cabinet. On May 6, the Bundestag will elect a new head of government, who will be Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democratic Union party. On the same day, the new government will be sworn in. Earlier, the CDU and CSU had already announced their representatives who will become ministers.
Germany held early parliamentary elections on February 23. The CDU/CSU bloc won with 28.5% of the vote. For the first time in its history, the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) came in second with 20.8%. The SPD came in third with 16.4% of the vote. Next came the Greens and the Left Party with 11.6% and 8.8% of the vote, respectively.