German Chancellor urged to relinquish power quickly

Photo: Ralf Hirschberger Agence France-Presse German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

Pierrick Yvon – Agence France-Presse in Berlin

Published at 2:40 p.m.

• Europe

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under increasing pressure from the opposition and business circles to step down immediately after the collapse of his fragile government coalition plunged Europe's largest economy into a serious crisis.

“We simply cannot afford to have a government without a majority for several months,” said the leader of the main opposition bloc, the conservative CDU-CSU, Friedrich Merz.

The long-feared implosion of the government comes at the worst possible time for Germany, which is struggling with a severe industrial crisis, and for Europe, which is worried about the repercussions for its trade and security of the election of Republican Donald Trump as US president.

In a meeting of about 25 minutes at the chancellery, Friedrich Merz promised Olaf Scholz to cooperate on some pending legislation if the confidence vote was raised “in the coming days.”

But the chief executive declined and is sticking to the set date, January 15, to pave the way for elections in March.

German business and industrial circles are also calling for rapid elections, as are the far-right AfD, the BSW (radical left), and Christian Lindner, the recently dismissed Finance Minister, whose departure caused the collapse of the motley coalition of the Social Democrats, the Greens and his Liberal Party (FDP).

“Our country has no time to lose,” he insisted.

Read also

• Scholz government breaks up, Germany heads for early elections
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Call for “reason”

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called on politicians to “be responsible,” stressing that the country “needs stable majorities and effective government.”

The president, a social democrat like the chancellor, will be responsible for dissolving the Bundestag if Olaf Scholz loses the vote of confidence, as expected.

Despite the earthquake caused by the collapse of his coalition in power since the end of 2021, Olaf Scholz wants to travel to Budapest in the evening to meet his European counterparts and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

However, he has cancelled his planned trip to COP29 in Baku, which begins on Monday.

The government’s agony has lasted long months due to deep divergences on budgetary and economic policy.

The Social Democrats and the Greens are in favour of reviving the faltering national economy through spending, while the Liberals are advocating social cuts and strict budgetary discipline.

Mr Lindner is being replaced in Finance by one of Olaf Scholz's close advisers, Jörg Kukies, a 56-year-old former investment banker.

Two other Liberals are leaving the government, while Transport Minister Volker Wissing has decided to stay and has left his party in the process. He will be in charge of Justice, in addition to Transport.

“We will make decisions”

The government is now a minority, but “we are in office, we can make decisions and we will make decisions,” assured Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens). The opposition refuses any support for the government.

As for the 2025 budget, the preparation of which is at the origin of the current crisis, there is uncertainty. A minimal and reduced version could be implemented from January.

Coalition breakups are very rare in Germany, but the paralysis of the Scholz team could not continue, many commentators believe.

“Thank goodness it's over,” headlines the magazine Der Spiegel, summarizing the general feeling in the country.

Olaf Scholz hoped that the election of Donald Trump, a fan of protectionism and diplomatic confrontations, would force his coalition to close ranks. But the opposite happened.

If elections were to be held tomorrow, the conservative opposition would come out on top with 32% of the vote, according to a new poll by the Ipsos institute on Thursday, conducted in early November, before the coalition collapsed.

And Friedrich Merz would be the favourite to become chancellor. But he too would have difficulty forming a majority coalition, with the far-right AfD lurking in second place (18%) with which he rejects any government alliance. The SPD is credited with 15%, the Greens with 11%, and the FDP with just 5%.