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| Germany coalition deal: Social Democrats vote to join government | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to form her fourth government after the opposition Social Democrats voted in favour of another grand coalition. | German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to form her fourth government after the opposition Social Democrats voted in favour of another grand coalition. |
| The vote by 464,000 rank-and-file members ends five months of political deadlock since September's election. | |
| The Social Democrats had been split between the party's leadership, which backed joining the coalition, and its radical youth wing, which did not. | The Social Democrats had been split between the party's leadership, which backed joining the coalition, and its radical youth wing, which did not. |
| Mrs Merkel has been in power for 12 years. | Mrs Merkel has been in power for 12 years. |
| SPD voters approved continuing the coalition with 66% in favour and 33% against. Vote counting went on through the night at the SPD headquarters in Berlin. | |
| The German Chancellor faces a range of challenges, including strong opposition from the nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD). | |
| The anti-immigrant party entered the federal parliament for the first time in September and now makes up the largest opposition group. | |
| The Social Democrats (SPD) suffered their worst ever election result and many blamed their coalition with Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) for the poor performance. |