The self-proclaimed “Progress Coalition” never had the strength to correct Germany’s political lies. That will now probably be the task of the CDU. She is largely responsible for the state of the country.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday at Bellevue Palace.
Kay Nietfeld/DPA
You are reading an excerpt from the weekday newsletter “Der Andere Blick”, today by Morten Freidel, deputy editor-in-chief of NZZ Germany. Subscribe to the newsletter for free. Don’t live in Germany? Benefit here.
The dream of the self-proclaimed “Progressive Coalition” of being able to control the large tanker Germany only lasted a few months. It burst at the latest the moment this tanker got into stormy seas for the first time: during Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, captain Olaf Scholz and his officers have been taking control of each other on the bridge.
The war ruthlessly exposed the political lies of the Germans, to which a large part of the country had fallen victim.
With Russia’s invasion, an energy policy that made the country dependent on Russian gas failed. The attempt to establish shuttle diplomacy between Russia and America and to bring the former Soviet empire closer to Europe had failed. A defense policy that relied primarily on Germany being surrounded by friends and only secondarily on a powerful army had failed. What recently failed was a policy that relied on more and more government and debt to alleviate structural problems instead of eliminating them.
A lot can be said in defense of the coalition that has now collapsed. In February 2022, she not only found herself in stormy seas, but also in a hurricane that shook up the geopolitical situation. The fact that it was able to hit Germany with such force is also due to previous governments. Above all, it is the legacy of Angela Merkel.
Only for a short time did the impression arise that the coalition might be up to the task. It was the moment when Chancellor Scholz declared a “turning point” in the German parliament and took on 100 billion euros in additional debt to rearm the German army. But the forces of inertia soon prevailed in the Russia-friendly SPD. Since then, the party has been arguing about every additional euro for the military, just like in the supposedly good old days.
The fact that the government was overwhelmed was finally shown by the undignified wrangling over the nuclear phase-out. By February 2022 at the latest, it should have been recognized that only with the reactors can we significantly reduce dependence on gas and sufficiently reduce energy prices for industry. Other countries did just that, silently at that. In Germany it took a word of power from the Chancellor to keep the remaining nuclear power plants online longer. For a few measly months, mind you.
Instead of thinking big, the Scholz government got tangled up in the small-scale ideological trench warfare. She insisted on a climate-neutral transformation that theoretically leads to a bright future, but in practice leads to deindustrialization. She stuck to the left-wing belief that the state knows better than the economy in which direction it should go. It constantly gave directions instead of setting guardrails and trusting in the healthy competition of the market.
All that remains is a security package
The ultimate proof of its failure came from this government’s migration policy. After the attacks in Mannheim and Solingen, she loudly announced a security package to combat irregular immigration to Germany. All that remains is a security package.
The undermining of the right to asylum by migrants who are simply looking for a better life is shaking Europe to its foundations. The outgoing German government also missed the opportunity to tackle this problem at its root. And even their cosmetic measures went too far for the left-wing forces in the alliance. Since then, many citizens have lost confidence in the state’s ability to act. The recent elections in the east of the country demonstrated this impressively.
This policy has also caused damage in the European Union. When it comes to limiting migration, Germany now only plays the role of an extra in the international community.
Overall, this coalition had neither the courage nor the strength to weather the storm in which Germany and the European continent find themselves. That’s why it was right that the FDP used its position paper to build up so much pressure that it ultimately broke.
However, all of this happens very late. Germany has wasted valuable time. What is still Europe’s most powerful country is in the eye of the storm with the election of Donald Trump. There is no way back to the illusory cronyship with the autocratic warlord Vladimir Putin. And the Americans expect that Europe and Germany can defend themselves independently. Further military aid for Ukraine could also be stuck with the latter.
The moment when Chancellor Olaf Scholz appeared in front of the press on Wednesday evening was emblematic of how overwhelmed this government was. Scholz wanted to appear statesmanlike and instead attacked his fired finance minister with petty accusations. He acted as if Trump’s election had struck Germany like a natural disaster, even though it had been a possibility for months.
No more sedated debates
Before the break, Scholz called for the debt brake to be lifted – i.e. even more money to cover up the same problems. And worse: He wants to delay the date of new elections until March to give his party more time to prepare for the election campaign. In all this, the Chancellor may have the country’s well-being in mind, as he himself claims. But his actions are damaging the country.
The demise of the Scholz government must serve as a warning to the bourgeois forces in Germany. Of course, the opposition Union parties CDU and CSU should not refuse to cooperate with the Red-Green Party in the current situation. But they shouldn’t fall for Scholz’s talk of “cohesion” either.
Germany doesn’t need more sedated debates, but rather more arguments about the future direction of its politics. The country doesn’t need more debt to continue as before, but rather courageous decisions on direction. Above all, immediate new elections are needed. The previous government factions in the Bundestag have lost the trust of the sovereign.
The Union will probably emerge victorious from the next federal election; It has been consistently ahead in the surveys for months. In that case, she must resist the temptation to give the country more of the poison that has made it sick. You cannot fix an energy and economic policy that leads to shortages with subsidies. You have to change them. The undermining of the law in migration cannot be countered with pithy words and activist knife bans. The rule of law must be restored.
What bourgeois politics must achieve now
The current crisis is the Union’s last chance. She is largely responsible for the grievances in the country. If she doesn’t prove now that she can do better, then the “blue miracle” that the AfD dreams of will actually happen soon.
Germany needs a chancellor who thinks big and is prepared to implement them. He must redesign the energy policy, including nuclear power and with a target path adapted to the rest of the EU. He must cut back on social spending and regulations and invest more in the military, infrastructure and schools.
All of this would take time, a lot of things would be unpopular, and the headwind would be considerable. But the alternative – a continuation of the policy of short-term benefits for voters – would be fatal. What is at stake are long-term decisions for the good of the country. That is what the bourgeois camp in Germany must now do.
