Germany's left-wing coalition government collapsed on Wednesday night over budget disagreements, personal disputes and the return of Donald Trump, ending with the firing of Finance Minister Christian Lindner and the Liberal Democratic Party from power. I ended up leaving.
The retirement of former Chancellor Angela Merkel and the collapse of support for her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which actively opened borders, the Social Democratic Party (red) led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the Progressive Coalition government of Chancellor Lindner. Almost three years have passed since he took office. The Liberal Democrats (yellow) and Robert Habeck's Green Party (green) finally ended this week after months of infighting between the two parties over the federal budget. Welts report.
While there is clearly no great love lost between Mr. Scholz and Mr. Lindner, who has accused the former Treasury secretary of being selfish, untruthful and purely politically motivated, this division is fundamental. This is largely due to differences in worldviews and different visions of the role of the state.
As reported by the German media, the era of the traffic light federation is coming to an end with a “mud fight.”
“He has betrayed my trust too often. There is no foundation of trust for further cooperation. I no longer want to subject our country to such conduct,” Scholz said. “I wish we had avoided this difficult decision, especially in these difficult times. Serious government work cannot be done as it is.”
Scholz admitted The election of Donald Trump on Wednesday is also said to have spurred the collapse of the government. Trump's return to the White House has increased the urgency for Berlin to clarify the country's economic stance to show “we can be trusted,” the prime minister said.
The former president has a long history of pressuring Germany to increase spending to meet NATO's defense requirements and because of its overreliance on imported Russian gas to power its economy. These demands caused outrage in Berlin, but proved prescient after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Robert Habeck, deputy prime minister and leader of the Green Party, said Lindner's dismissal was “unnecessary” and that given Trump's return, it would have been better for him to remain in power, trying to prevent the coalition from collapsing. But it was no use.
However, he admitted The “traffic light” government ultimately proved to be very “unpopular” with the country.
In negotiations and bickering between the “traffic light” partners over the past few months, Mr. Lindner and his pro-business centrist Liberal Democratic Party claimed He says corporate tax cuts and government spending cuts are needed to revitalize Germany's stagnant economy.
The economy is struggling to recover from the coronavirus lockdown and the energy crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine. However, the anti-industrial Green Party was not keen on the idea of business tax cuts, and the left-wing Social Democrats rejected the idea of enacting meaningful spending cuts.
Linder also recommended cutting new investment in green energy projects and restructuring the national pension system to ease pressure on the budget. He accused both parties of being unrealistic and failing to recognize the pitfalls of increasing government debt to keep pet welfare and green energy projects afloat.
Lindner also revealed on Wednesday that he had demanded that Scholz agree to suspend the “debt brake” following his dismissal by the chancellor. Constitutionally mandated fiscal measures introduced after the 2008 financial collapse prevent Berlin from adding more debt than 0.35% of GDP annually.
“I could not reconcile that with my oath of office,” the former finance minister said, adding that “Olav Scholz has shown that our country is incapable of giving us a new start…Our country now needs a new direction.” We need a new era of growth.”
The government collapsed on Wednesday, but Scholz's Social Democrats and Green Party are likely to remain in power as a minority for months to come. The Prime Minister said a vote of confidence in the Bundestag was scheduled for January 15 and that elections would be held by March at the latest.
Rising left-wing populist Sarah Wagenknecht, whose eponymous BSW party could become a coalition partner in a future government after the election, has harshly criticized Scholz for delaying the vote, accusing her of self-interest. criticized. “The traffic light coalition has led Germany into a deep crisis. Olaf Scholz should ask about his confidence now, instead of waiting until the new year. The chancellor's schedule is to politically delay the bankruptcy,” she said. insisted.
“Instead of using this evening to apologize to the people for the past three years, the current Prime Minister has delivered a self-righteous campaign speech,” she continued.
“While Germany's bridges and railways are rotting and millions of pensioners live in poverty, Olaf Scholz is trying to increase funding for arms and rearmament in Ukraine. The fact that they are serious about wanting to lift the debt brake again shows that this problem is happening again.''The government has of course failed,'' Wagenknecht said.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democrats (formerly of Chancellor Angela Merkel's party during the migrant crisis and now insisting it has learned its lessons and will do better on border issues in the future), has said he will postpone the no-confidence vote until next year. Scholz's ideas are irrational and will harm the public, he said. The country likens the lame duck period to a “prime ministerial coma.” Merz is meeting with other party leaders on Thursday to explore a way forward, and hopes that a vote to abolish the government and potentially hold new elections will take place this week or at the latest next week. He said that it should be done.
