 Germany's main parties have sealed an agreement to create a government of traditional rivals under the leadership of conservative Angela Merkel, breaking eight weeks of deadlock after an inconclusive general election. "I'm convinced that the coalition creates a genuine opportunity for Germany," Merkel said on Friday. She will become the country's first woman chancellor and first from the former communist East if, as expected, the new parliament formally elects her on 22 November. She will head a potentially unwieldy bipartisan government that includes her Christian Democrats (CDU), their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Social Democrats of outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. |