BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) said on Wednesday they had agreed to start talks on a possible coalition with Friedrich Merz's conservatives but stressed their support was not automatic and hit out at his negotiating style.

Social Democratic Party co-leader Klingbeil expects conservative chief Merz to change 'course and tone' before talks to form potential coalition government

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz says he aiming to close a coalition agreement with the SPD in a "short time." Meanwhile, talks are ongoing on how to increase defense spending. DW has the latest.

The first of the four so-called Grand Coalitions, which was led by CDU leader Kurt Georg Kiesinger, weighed 90 per cent in the Bundestag in 1966. Angela Merkel’s first of three governments with the SPD in 2005 represented a 73 per cent majority and her fourth, in 2018, relied on 56 per cent of the seats.

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz is almost certain to become chancellor, but first he needs to win over the Social Democrats, setting up tense negotiations to bridge their differences in areas like government borrowing and welfare spending.

The centre-right party's leader Friedrich Merz said CDU and SPD are to enter talks to form a coalition, one day after the German election on Sunday. View on euronews