Election winner Friedrich Merz said on Friday he was open to reforming Germany's legally prescribed spending limits as his conservatives started exploratory talks on forming a coalition with outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats.

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz, the country's presumptive next chancellor, is set to make a surprise visit to Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, days after his CDU/CSU bloc secured victory in national elections.

Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has opened talks with the Social Democrats over ways to quickly ramp up defense spending before they’ve completed a formal coalition deal, according to people familiar with those discussions.

Germany's conservatives led by election winner Friedrich Merz held first talks on Friday with the Social Democrats on forming a coalition government as the country faces multiple challenges at home and abroad.