Germany’s parliament on Monday accepted Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s invitation to withdraw confidence in him and his government, paving the way for early elections on February 23, necessitated by the collapse of the government.
As Germany faces a deepening economic crisis, Mr. Scholz’s three-party coalition collapsed last month after the pro-market Free Democrats left the party one after another over debt issues, and Mr. Scholz’s Social Democratic Party and Green Party lost their seats in parliament. lost the majority of
Under rules created to prevent the instability that fueled the rise of fascism in the 1930s, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier could dissolve parliament and call elections only if the chancellor called a vote of confidence and it failed. can be done.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrives at the Bundestag lower house in Berlin, Germany, on December 16, 2024, to hear whether parliament should cancel the vote of confidence. (Liisa Johansen)
German Chancellor Scholz rejects calls for no-confidence motion after coalition government collapses
In the debates leading up to the vote, party leaders uttered petulant and abusive language, and campaign activities began in earnest.
The chancellor and the conservative Friedrich Merz, who surveys suggest is his likely successor, accused each other of incompetence and lack of vision.
Scholz, who will lead an interim government until a new government is formed, has a proven track record as a crisis leader who has responded to the economic and security emergency triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. defended.
He said that if given a second term, he would invest heavily in Germany’s creaking infrastructure rather than make the spending cuts that conservatives want.
“If you’re short-sighted, you might save money in the short term, but you won’t be able to pay the mortgage for your future,” said Scholz, who served as finance minister for four years under the last Conservative coalition government and will be in 2021. He became Prime Minister in .
German Chancellor Scholz warns next European Commission president not to appeal to far-right supporters
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks on the day of the vote of confidence in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, on December 16, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. (Axel Schmidt)
Mr. Merz told Mr. Scholz that his spending plans would burden future generations and accused Mr. Scholz of failing to fulfill his promise to rearma after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
“They took on debt at the expense of young people, wasted money, and never once uttered the word ‘competitiveness,'” Mertz said.
Neither mentioned constitutional spending caps, a measure to ensure fiscal responsibility that many economists blame for the weakening of Germany’s infrastructure.
Conservatives have a clear lead in opinion polls
The Conservative Party is comfortably ahead of the SPD, although most polls show it has narrowed its lead over the SPD by more than 10 points. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party narrowly edged out Scholz’s party, with the Greens in fourth place.
Mainstream parties refuse to govern with the AfD, but its presence complicates parliamentary calculations and increases the likelihood of an unwieldy coalition.
Germany’s Olaf Scholz has been rejected in a vote of confidence in the German parliament, paving the way for an early election to replace him as chancellor. (Rishi Niesner)
Scholz has outlined a list of policies that could be passed with opposition support before the election, including $11 billion in tax cuts and child support increases already agreed to by former coalition partners. Included.
Conservatives may also support measures to better protect the Constitutional Court from the machinations of future populist or anti-democratic governments, as well as measures such as the extension of popular transport subsidy tickets. It is hinted that it may support.
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Measures to reduce unintended burdens on taxpayers could also be passed if local governments agree, but Mertz said he wants an entirely new energy policy and rejected green proposals to lower energy prices. .
This is a worrying sign for German democracy, given the growing possibility that disparate parties will have to govern together again amid the rifts in the political landscape, said Green Party chancellor candidate Robert Habeck. He said that.
“It’s very unlikely that the next government will have it easy,” Habeck said.
AfD leader Alice Weidel has called for the repatriation of all Syrian refugees in Germany following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
