Wednesday, December 8th, 2021
“World looks at our country”
The change is complete – the Scholz government is in office
The Angela Merkel era has officially ended. The social democrat Olaf Scholz and his 16 ministers take their oath of office in the Bundestag. For government work, there are then some tips from the Federal President.
Germany’s first red-green-yellow federal government is in office and can begin with its planned renewal of the country. In Berlin, the Bundestag elected the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz as the ninth Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. He and his 16 ministers then received the certificates of appointment from Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He called on the new government to involve everyone in its reform policy.
With the arrival of the Ampel coalition, the era of Chancellor Angela Merkel came to an end after 16 years. Scholz received 395 of 707 votes in the secret election in the Bundestag. There were 303 votes against and 6 abstentions, 3 votes were invalid. The Social Democrats were missing at least 15 votes from the ranks of the SPD, Greens and FDP. 369 votes were needed to vote. The traffic light parties have 416 seats in parliament – 47 more than the so-called chancellor majority. Six MPs from the three parliamentary groups did not take part in the vote because they were ill.
Scholz is only the fourth SPD Chancellor in the history of the Federal Republic – after Willy Brandt (1969-1974), Helmut Schmidt (1974-1982) and Gerhard Schröder (1998-2005). The CDU has so far provided the four chancellors Konrad Adenauer, Ludwig Erhard, Kurt Georg Kiesinger and Helmut Kohl, and most recently Chancellor Merkel. SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich was the first to hand over a bouquet of flowers to the new chancellor, then Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus. The defeated Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet also congratulated.
Government tips from the Federal President
In the Bundestag, Scholz spoke the oath laid down in the Basic Law: “I swear that I will devote my energy to the well-being of the German people, to increase their benefit, to prevent them from harm, to uphold and defend the Basic Law and the laws of the Federation, to conscientiously fulfill my duties Will do justice to everyone. ” The SPD politician – and later seven of his ministers – did without the addition “So help me God”.
When handing over the certificates of appointment, Steinmeier said that the new government had “made a lot of progress, a lot of reform and a lot of change”. Change meets expectations and arouses hopes in some, but in others it also stirs up uncertainty and doubt. “The majority have given you a mandate for courageous steps towards change. But: Those who take courageous steps will ensure that the less strong can keep pace, that people for whom change means loss can also gain new things.”
The Federal President also reminded the Ampel coalition of its foreign policy responsibility. Germany is not a remote island, he said. “The world looks at our country. The expectations of Germany are great. Our reliability and our standing up for rules and cooperation, for liberal democracy and for a united Europe, for peace and our security in the alliance, you will have plenty of time for all of this and demand effort. “
In the afternoon, Scholz took over official business in Merkel’s Chancellery. The new cabinet wants to meet for its first session that evening. Merkel followed the election of Chancellor in the guest gallery of the Bundestag. When she was welcomed by the SPD by Bundestag President Bärbel Bas at the opening of the session, the MPs – with the exception of the AfD parliamentarians – stood up and applauded.
Seven times the SPD, five times the Greens, four times the FDP
Former leading politicians such as former Federal President Joachim Gauck and the last SPD Chancellor Schröder also attended the election. “It’s a really good day today: for me, the SPD and above all for Olaf Scholz,” said Schröder at ntv. “I think he will play a very positive role – both in domestic and foreign policy.” When asked how the population will notice that there is an SPD politician in the Chancellery again, the former Chancellor said: “It will be a different style. It will be a different constellation. And I assume that you can do what it takes continuity and will bring it to an end. I am very optimistic about the results. “
The SPD, Greens and FDP have put their 177-page coalition agreement under the motto “Dare to make more progress”. Among other things, they want to extend the rent brake for new rentals and limit rent increases in existing tenancies in the tense housing market. Electricity customers should be relieved by the elimination of the EEG surcharge to promote green electricity at the beginning of 2023. By 2030, Germany is to get 80 percent of its electricity from renewable energies. The traffic light wants to strengthen local public transport and raise the statutory minimum wage to 12 euros. To protect the Bundeswehr soldiers on missions abroad, the traffic light parties want to enable drones to be armed.
There will be a new Federal Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Economic Affairs will be assigned climate protection. In the coming year, the Ampel-Coalition wants to take out new loans again due to the ongoing pandemic, but then again comply with the debt brake anchored in the Basic Law from 2023. There should be no new taxes or tax increases. Municipalities with high old debts should be relieved.
The SPD has seven ministers in the new government: Wolfgang Schmidt (Head of the Chancellery), Karl Lauterbach (Health), Hubertus Heil (Labor and Social Affairs), Nancy Faeser (Inside), Christine Lambrecht (Defense), Klara Geywitz (Construction) and Svenja Schulze (development). For the Greens are in the cabinet: Annalena Baerbock (outside), Robert Habeck (economy and climate protection), Anne Spiegel (family), Steffi Lemke (environment) and Cem Özdemir (agriculture). Habeck is also Vice Chancellor. The cabinet members of the FDP are: Christian Lindner (finance), Volker Wissing (transport), Marco Buschmann (justice) and Bettina Stark-Watzinger (education).