Germany's SPD to open coalition talks with "kingmaker" parties

The Greens party co-leaders Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck give a statement after a party leadership meeting in Berlin, Germany, October 6, 2021. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi

BERLIN (Reuters) -The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) moved a step closer on Wednesday to heading Germany's next government, signing up the Greens and business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) for coalition talks following an inconclusive national election.

The SPD's candidate for chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said the talks would begin on Thursday following what he called very constructive preliminary discussions. The electorate had given the three parties a mandate to form a government that they now needed to fulfil, he added.