Germany’s Greens say deal ready for 3-party coalition

BERLIN (AP) — The three parties negotiating to form Germany’s next government will finalize and present their coalition agreement Wednesday, the environmentalist Greens said in a statement.

The center-left Social Democrats have been negotiating with the Green party and the pro-business Free Democrats since narrowly winning a national election on Sept. 26.

If approved by party members in the coming weeks, the three-way alliance would replace the current grand coalition of Social Democrats and outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats.

Merkel, who didn’t run for a fifth term, is likely to be succeeded by current Finance Minister Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats.