Merkel's party backs coalition deal to form new German gov't

BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel rallied her party Monday behind a proposed new government with the center-left Social Democrats, receiving overwhelming support from delegates for a coalition deal she said speaks directly to her Christian Democratic Union's core themes of family, security and economic growth.

Of some 1,000 delegates at a convention in Berlin, only 27 voted against the agreement which had drawn criticism from some conservatives in the party. The convention also saw delegates approve Merkel ally Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, a longtime governor in the tiny western state of Saarland, to take over the party's day-to-day management as general secretary.