German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a press conference in Berlin, Germany, on Nov. 27, 2013. Leaders from Germany's main parties signed provisionally a coalition agreement on Wednesday, paving the road for forming a new government two months after a federal election. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

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German parties clinch deal on grand coalition, pending SPD vote

BERLIN, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) reached a deal on Wednesday after five weeks of talks and all-night negotiations to form the next coalition government.

The 185-page agreement, signed by Angela Merkel with her counterparts from her party's Bavarian ally Christian Social Union (CSU) and the SPD, proved to be a win-win outcome as both sides got what was important to them in the time-consuming post-election horse trading. Full story