German Chancellor and leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merz looks on during a press conference with Christian Social Union (CSU) leader and Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder, SPD co-leader and German Labour and Social Affairs Minister Baerbel Bas and Social Democratic Party (SPD) co-leader and German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil after coalition committee talks in Berlin, Germany, October 9, 2025. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch