BERLIN (Reuters) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives began talks with their pro-business allies on Monday to form Germany's first center-right government in 11 years and promised to revive the economy and create jobs.

Merkel's conservatives and the Free Democrats (FDP), who won enough votes in last week's election for a coalition, have vowed to cut tax and curb the role of the state but they differ on key details as Germany emerges from its deepest post-war recession.
As well as policy, the conservatives, comprising Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), will haggle with the FDP over ministry posts.
Meanwhile, the Social Democrats (SPD), the biggest election losers, looked to a new era as the party's top committees nominated outgoing Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel to become chairman.
Heading into the coalition talks, Merkel said creating a stable foundation for Europe's biggest economy would be vital.
“We want to focus on growth, jobs and prosperity of our country,” said Merkel, who became Germany's first female chancellor in 2005 and came out on top in the September 27 election.
After the end of the first round of talks, senior officials from each party said the atmosphere had been constructive and all sides wanted to complete the talks as soon as possible. The parties have said they aim for a deal in about a month.
However, the only concrete step agreed was to create ten working groups to prepare the ground on individual topics, such as tax. These groups will start work on Tuesday.
The three parties face tough negotiations to overcome their differences on tax and labor market policy.
The conservatives campaigned on a pledge of tax cuts worth 15 billion euros ($21.93 billion), while the FDP promised to slash taxes by up to 35 billion euros.
But whoever takes the finance job will have to juggle with delivering tax cuts while reining in the budget deficit.
An internal chancellery document obtained by Reuters showed the new government will need to save over 40 billion euros by 2013 if it sticks to existing plans to reduce net new borrowing.
The Finance Ministry has forecast Germany's budget deficit could rise to 6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year -- double the European Union's limit.
The CDU's Roland Koch is reported to be Merkel's choice for finance minister but the FDP wants party veteran Hermann Otto Solms, 68, and the CSU is eyeing the post for its popular Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, 37.