Germany's parliament approved plans for a massive spending surge on Tuesday, throwing off decades of fiscal conservatism in hopes of reviving economic growth and scaling up military spending for a new era of European collective defence.

Mr Merz’s conservatives and the Social Democrats are in negotiations to form a government after February's election. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Under Germany's constitution, Merz needs a two-thirds majority to get the changes passed. With the support of the Greens and Social Democrats, he should succeed. Urgent motions by both the AfD and the Left to challenge next week's sessions of the outgoing parliament failed at the constitutional court on Friday, enabling the vote to go ahead.