German government averts crisis with budget agreement for Europe’s largest economy

The German government has announced an agreement on its budget for 2025 and a stimulus package for Europe’s largest economy, easing a monthslong squabble that threatened to upend Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left coalition. Scholz, a Social Democrat, and leaders of the Free Democrats and Greens agreed on the budget early Friday after marathon talks. Months of public disagreement over spending plans had fueled speculation that the already unpopular government could collapse and prompt a snap parliamentary election in which Germany could follow other European countries by swinging toward the political right.