It’s been nearly 2 months since the national election in Germany, and after long negotiations, the leaders of the centre-left Social Democrats, environmentalist Greens and pro-business Free Democrats have come to an agreement to take government. Olaf Scholz from the Social Democrats will become Germany’s new leader after winning the most seats in September’s poll. Policies to phase out coal, bring the nation’s economy in line with its climate policies and legalise cannabis form large parts of the deal. It brings an end to 16 years of Christian Democrat rule under Chancellor Angela Merkel. For years, her party had governed in coalition with the Social Democrats, but Scholz said the election result showed voters wanted change. The deal has to be approved by the 3 parties’ memberships, and the new government should be in place early next month.