Germany’s opposition far-left Left party said it would abstain from voting on a contentious pensions package on Friday, likely indirectly securing its passage through parliament and saving Chancellor Friedrich Merz from a humiliating defeat. The bill, which will keep the state pension at current levels until 2031, is a key pillar of the coalition deal between Merz’s conservatives and his centre-left Social Democrat partner, who have just a slender governing majority of 12 votes.
