section_path: Government formation/Beginning of exploratory talks
section_name: Beginning of exploratory talks
paragraph_text: Beginning of exploratory talks
  
  The CDU team included Friedrich Merz and other high-ranking officials such as CSU leader Markus Söder, CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann and CDU parliamentary group leader Thorsten Frei, CSU parliamentary group leader Alexander Dobrindt, the Saxon Minister President Michael Kretschmer, the deputy chairwoman of the CDU Karin Prien and CSU politician Dorothee Bär. The SPD delegation was made up of important personalities such as Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and Labour Minister Hubertus Heil, as well as the Secretary General Matthias Miersch, Bundestag President Bärbel Bas, the two Minister Presidents Manuela Schwesig and Anke Rehlinger, and the head of the SPD in North Rhine-Westphalia Achim Post.
  
  Both sides had originally wanted the talks not to commence until 5 March, in view of the state election in Hamburg on 2 March, as well as Carnival (peaking 3 March), which is very popular in some parts of Germany. Subsequently however, Klingbeil and Merz agreed to an early start in their talks, so exploratory talks between the two parties began in Berlin on 28 February 2025, five days after the election. Merz had set himself the target of forming a coalition by Easter. From the outset, there were differences of opinion between the CDU and SPD on the reform of the debt brake (which limited the German budget deficit to 0.35% of GDP per year), a possible tax reform, the minimum tax reform, the minimum wage, the citizen's income, immigration and a new right to vote. Following the events at the White House on 28 February, exploratory talks were further intensified, as both parties recognised the need for a government capable of acting quickly in Europe's largest economy after US President Donald Trump suspended US military aid for Ukraine. The parties met again on 3 March.