Merkel vows to work for the ‘good of Germany’

BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday (Monday in Manila) vowed to work with the Social Democrats for the “good of Germany” as the center-left party agreed to join her new coalition, but the veteran leader will go into her fourth term with weaker cards than before.

Two in three of the SPD’s rank and file voting in a crunch referendum backed a new partnership with Merkel’s conservatives, heralding an end to the political stalemate that has plagued Europe’s biggest economy since September’s inconclusive elections.