German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), their Bavarian sister-party the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) announced on Wednesday that they will start exploratory coalition talks in early January.

The heads of the CDU/CSU and the SPD said in a joint statement that they will meet to begin talks on January 7 and are hoping for a quick finish the exploratory talks just a few days later on January 12.

Read more: German business confidence dips on political impasse

In their statement, which came after seven hours of talks in Berlin, said discussions had been conducted in a "trusting atmosphere"

The results of the exploratory talks will then be discussed within each their parliamentary parties and among the parties' respective boards and Merkel's CDU said on Twitter.

The CDU outlined 15 different topic areas that will be discussed between Merkel, SPD leader Martin Schulz and CSU head Horst Seehofer, including finances/taxes, energy, family, migration/integration, Europe and the labor market.

A history of Germany's coalition governments CDU/CSU - FDP - DP (1949-1957) The first democratic government to rule West Germany since the end of World War II saw Christian Democratic Union leader Konrad Adenauer form a governing coalition with the Free Democrats and the German Party (a now-defunct national conservative party). When Adenauer's conservatives won re-election four years later, he once again turned to the same coalition partners.

A history of Germany's coalition governments CDU/CSU - FDP (1961-1966) After four years of ruling West Germany on their own between 1957 and 1961, the conservative Union lost their majority in the Bundestag and were forced to enter into coalition with the Free Democrats again. Adenauer resigned in 1963 for his part in the so-called "Spiegel" scandal. His Minister of Economic Affairs Ludwig Erhard (left) was elected by parliament to take over

A history of Germany's coalition governments CDU/CSU - SPD (1966-1969) The first ever "grand coalition" was not the product of an election. Ludwig Erhart was re-elected in 1965 and continued to rule alongside the FDP. However, the following year the Free Democrats left the government over budget disputes. Erhart also resigned and Kurt Kiesinger (right) was chosen to take over. With the FDP out, he governed with the Social Democrats, led by Willy Brandt (left).

A history of Germany's coalition governments SPD - FDP (1969-1982) Willy Brandt became Germany's first Social Democratic chancellor in the post-war period. Despite winning fewer votes than the CDU/CSU, Brandt struck a deal with the FDP to give them a narrow majority in the Bundestag. It wouldn't be the last time the liberals would be called out for a perceived lack of loyalty. In 1974, Brandt was replaced by Helmut Schimdt, who went on to win two more elections.

A history of Germany's coalition governments CDU/CSU - FDP (1982-1998) The 13-year friendship between the SPD and FDP ended in 1980 as the two parties' differing ideologies became irreconcilable. The liberals again switched sides that year, dropping out of the coalition and seeking a deal with the conservatives. That caused the SPD-led government to collapse and a reborn CDU/CSU-FDP coalition formed under the leadership of Helmut Kohl (pictured).

A history of Germany's coalition governments CDU - DSU - Democratic Awakening (1990) Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany held its first ever elections. The Christian Democrats under Lothar de Maiziere took over 40 percent of the vote. They went into coalition with two small parties: German Social Union and Democratic Awakening, whose members included one Angela Merkel. In October that year, the government signed the reunification treaty with West Germany.

A history of Germany's coalition governments SPD - Green Party (1998-2005) In 2002, Helmut Kohl's 16-year rule came to an end and the Social Democrats under Gerhard Schröder returned to power. The SPD formed a coalition with the Green party, who became a governing party less than 20 years after being founded. Unlike under Brandt, the SPD now led a left-wing government, rather than a center-left coalition. The SPD-Green party coalition remained in power until 2005.

A history of Germany's coalition governments CDU/CSU - SPD (2005-2009) "Grand coalitions" do not come easily. When the first exit polls came in, both Schröder (right) and Angela Merkel (left) declared themselves the winner. In the end, Merkel's conservatives defeated the SPD by just 1 percent. Germany's two largest parties agreed to form the country's second-ever grand coalition.

A history of Germany's coalition governments CDU/CSU - FDP (2009-2013) The "grand coalition" experiment ended in 2009, after the SPD picked up a disappointing 23 percent in the federal elections. The Free Democrats, by contrast, gained almost 5 percent to give them over 14 percent of the vote. Merkel and the FDP's Guido Westerwelle (left) formed a coalition with relative ease. It was, after all, Germany's 11th CDU/CSU-FDP government.

A history of Germany's coalition governments CDU/CSU - SPD (2013-?) After taking more than 40 percent of the vote, Merkel's conservatives probably weren't expecting to rule with the SPD. But with her old allies the FDP failing to meet the 5 percent threshold to enter the Bundestag, options were limited. Merkel called on the SPD to join her and "take on the responsibility to build a stable government." She made the same speech again four years later. Author: David Martin



Record-breaking coalition talks

Last Friday, Schulz announced that the parties had agreed to start preliminary talks although the SPD carefully noted that it wanted to keep open the possibility of a softer "cooperative coalition," while the CDU is mainly interested in forming a grand coalition.

Merkel was left looking for a new coalition partnership with the SPD after the collapse of lengthy exploratory coalition talks with her conservatives and the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) and the environmental Green paty.

To date, the longest Germany has gone without a ruling government coalition was the 86 days that the CDU, CSU and SPD needed to agree to a grand coalition under Merkel's leadership in 2013. The current talks have now surpassed that record.

rs/rc (AFP, dpa, Reuters)