In Germany, coalition governments are typically formed through a two-step process: parties first engage in exploratory talks to assess potential alliances before entering formal coalition negotiations

Germany’s Social Democrats are taking steps to revamp their leadership as a role in a new government beckons, even though Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party slumped to its worst election result since World War II.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz conceded defeat for his centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) after what he called “a bitter election result” on Sunday. Exit polls showed his party finishing in third place, taking just 16 per cent of the votes, with its worst postwar result in a national parliamentary election.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is due to enter the history books as the country's shortest-serving centre-left head of government, after Sunday's general election delivered a historic defeat to his Social Democrats.

After a humbling election defeat for Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Social Democrats (SPD), the party ... "The ball is in Friedrich Merz's court," said SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil at a party press conference. Germany needed the SPD to "to be able to ...

Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) on Wednesday elected Lars Klingbeil as leader of its parliamentary group, cementing his position as the party seeks to recover from a historic election defeat to join Friedrich Merz's conservatives in government.

High-level talks between leaders of Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the winners of the country's recent elections, the centre-right CDU/CSU bloc, continued in Berlin on Wednesday. Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD met for an hour and a half with the man widely expected to replace him as chancellor,

Following a historic election defeat for his centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday that he plans to carry out his work as head of government "properly to the end.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz talks with SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil next to his wife Britta Ernst Credit: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images Friedrich Merz (R), leader of Germany’s ...