German SPD expects to lead new coalition this year as talks deepen

Greens party co-leaders Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock arrive together with Free Democratic Party (FDP) secretary general Volker Wissing and FDP leader Christian Lindner to a meeting for exploratory talks for a possible new government coalition with the Social Democratic Party SPD in Berlin, Germany, October 11, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany's Social Democrats began in-depth exploratory coalition talks on Monday with two smaller parties and expressed confidence that the three would form a new government this year following an inconclusive national election.

The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) narrowly beat the conservatives, whose outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel has governed since 2005, in the Sept. 26 federal ballot, but did not win a majority.