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The Christian Democrat, who appeared to have a path to a stable governing coalition, hopes to lead Europe’s response to President Trump’s reshuffling of alliances.

Germany's outgoing parliament could still greenlight a new special fund to boost defence spending but reforming strict limits on state borrowing will be deferred to the new one, a senior ally of election winner Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday.

BERLIN (Reuters) -Election winner Friedrich Merz on Tuesday ruled out a quick reform to Germany's state borrowing limits known as the "debt brake" and said it was too soon to say whether the outgoing parliament could wave through a massive military spending boost.

With German politicians now debating potential abrupt reforms to the country's strict balanced budget rules, some left-leaning politicians found themselves exasperated by conservative leader Friedrich Merz's quick post-election reversal on the issue.