Angela Merkel coalition deal maintains hardline on euro

German chancellor Angela Merkel clinched a coalition deal with the Social Democrats yesterday that preserved Berlin’s strict approach towards struggling European partners.

The agreement, spelled out in minute detail in a 185-page policy document entitled Shaping Germany’s Future, was struck two months after Merkel emerged victorious from an election but fell just short of a parliamentary majority.

The result forced Merkel into negotiations with her arch-rivals, with whom she ruled in an awkward “grand coalition” during her first term from 2005-2009.