It is by no means a done deal. Germany's third 'Grand Coalition' under the helm of Angela Merkel still faces a number of hurdles before it can take office.
But on Friday (13 January), after marathon talks lasting 25 hours, Germany at least had the makings of a coalition agreement.
That prospective new government, made up of the same parties as the outgoing coalition - Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), their Bavar...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.