German SPD chief Scholz moves closer to succeeding Merkel as chancellor

Germany's Greens party co-leaders Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock and Social Democratic Party (SPD) top candidate for chancellor Olaf Scholz listen to Free Democratic Party (FDP) leader Christian Lindner as he gives a statement following a meeting for exploratory talks for a possible new government coalition in Berlin, Germany, October 15, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

BERLIN (Reuters) -The leader of Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), Olaf Scholz, took a major step towards succeeding Angela Merkel as chancellor on Friday, announcing that he and the leaders of two smaller parties aimed to move into formal coalition talks.

The leaders of the SPD, who came first in last month's election, the Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) said exploratory talks had been constructive and allowed them to establish a road map for more formal negotiations.