Germany's far-left party, The Left, sees the exploratory agreements between the CDU and SPD on the way to coalition talks as working against the interests of most citizens. "At best, there is a 'business as usual' option.

A senior member of Germany's conservative bloc has called on the Social Democrats to put party interests behind those of the country, as both parties are widely expected to begin talks on forming the next government.

Despite declarations by Friedrich Merz, the likely future chancellor, the future government's road to taking office looks to be long and strewn with pitfalls.

Germany's conservatives and Social Democrats (SPD) on Tuesday held talks on forming a coalition as hopes for buoying Europe's largest economy rose on the prospect of a nearly trillion euro borrowing boom to fund military and infrastructure spending.