SPD’s Maas to become Germany’s foreign minister in new coalition govt.

Heiko Maas, a senior member of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) and justice minister in the outgoing government, is to become foreign minister in the new coalition government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, a source in his party says.

The source in the SPD told local media on Thursday that Maas would replace Sigmar Gabriel, another senior SPD member who has said he would have no post in the next coalition government.

Gabriel, foreign minister for the past year, and a former leader of the SPD, threw his weight behind Maas and said Thursday that he would be a right choice.

“If it’s true that he will be the new foreign minister then (I) have a very good feeling - he will do it excellently,” said Gabriel at a news conference with his Bosnian counterpart Igor Crnadak.

The control of Foreign Ministry will be kept by the SPD based on an agreement reached between the party and Merkel’s conservatives last month. The SPD will also control five other portfolios, including the powerful ministry of finance, which Merkel relinquished painfully during coalition talks and is expected to be led by acting SPD leader Olaf Scholz. The other four ministries for the party are labor, justice, family and environment.

The SPD has yet to officially confirm reports about Maas and other candidates.

Maas had been viewed as a front-runner to take the post, mainly due to his records in the Justice Ministry where he brought in laws forcing social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to remove hate speech from their sites. The 51-year-old is also a fierce critic of the rising far-right in Germany, something that could further consolidate his position in Merkel’s new government.

Merkel should be approved as chancellor by the German parliament on Wednesday to begin her fourth term in office.

As the leader of the most powerful country in the European Union, Merkel and her diplomacy team are expected to play a more assertive international role in the next government, one that could match the country’s weight as one of the world’s largest economies.

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