Germany is governed by a red-green coalition without a majority. The new Bundestag election is scheduled to take place on February 23rd. Before that, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to ask the question of trust.
All developments on the government crisis and new elections in the live ticker:
1:37 p.m. – Scholz comments on citizens’ money
CDU politician Hermann Gröhe talks about citizens’ money. A course correction is necessary, as was agreed upon in the traffic light government’s growth initiative. Does the Chancellor stand by this?
Scholz replies: The CDU/CSU parliamentary group in this Bundestag approved the citizens’ money regulations. “Part of the regulations that are now rightly viewed critically are regulations that we carried over from the Corona period.” Something has to change because the way things are going now is not good. He stands by the growth initiative and is campaigning for the Union’s approval.
1:30 p.m. – Scholz stands behind Habeck after the AfD attack
The AfD MP Leif-Erik Holm wants to know from the Chancellor whether he would also like to fire Habeck after firing Lindner. Many considered him “the worst economics minister we have ever had”. He also points to recession and economic problems in the steel industry.
Scholz rejects this. “I don’t intend to do that and I won’t do that either.” He once again admits there are “big challenges” but defends the traffic light government’s investments in the energy transition.
1:24 p.m. – Scholz takes on the FDP
FDP MP Marcus Faber asked about the Taurus cruise missile and suggested that Scholz should allow the Ukrainians to train on the weapon now so that the cruise missile could be used if a successor to the Chancellor decided to deliver it.
Scholz answers with a smile: “For a party that is struggling with the five percent hurdle, you are pretty brave.” He wants to be his own successor. And the Chancellor emphasizes that he considers the delivery of cruise missiles to be wrong. Germany must not do anything that could lead to an escalation. “That’s why training makes no sense.”
1:17 p.m. – Deindustrialization instead of growth
Klöckner asks the Chancellor about his promise of a new economic miracle. “The reality is completely different.” Instead of growth, there is currently deindustrialization, high numbers of bankruptcies and outflows of investment. Does he see his promise fulfilled? Scholz answers: He remains convinced that the investments are right so that Germany remains an industrial country and can operate in a climate-neutral manner. And at the same time, Germany is facing many challenges. He calls for an investment bonus and a Germany fund to “finance growth”.
1:09 p.m. – Klöckner reprimands Scholz
At the beginning of the question and answer session, CDU MP Julia Klöckner pointed out a mistake to the Chancellor. At the end of his opening statement, Scholz said that in view of global tensions such as “the declaration of martial law in South Korea,” the partners had to stand together. South Korea’s parliament has called for martial law to be withdrawn.
“Just for your enlightenment. Martial law has long since been recalled by the South Korean president,” said Klöckner at the start of the question and answer session. In fact: South Korea’s President Yoon recalled martial law after six hours on Tuesday.
1:07 p.m. – Scholz speaks about a question of trust
Shortly afterwards, Scholz speaks about the weeks ahead until the new election. “I strongly advocate that relief be passed for citizens before the new elections. This applies to cold progression, to child benefit and to the Deutschlandticket. We have to do something about the challenges in the economy. That’s why we need to defend industrial jobs.”
1:03 p.m. – Scholz declares visit to Ukraine
At the start of his speech in the Bundestag, the Chancellor defended his visit to Ukraine: “Arms aid alone amounts to 28 billion euros. This is a significant amount, but also a sign of solidarity for the country.” He deliberately chose this trip.
“Now it’s about a principle – that decisions are not made over Ukraine’s head.” At the same time, it is important to keep a cool head now. “I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that there is no escalation between NATO and Russia.”
12:54 p.m. – Spahn criticizes Scholz
“This traffic light has been arguing for so long that all trust in Germany as a location has been lost. Olaf Scholz is the face of economic failure,” says Spahn in an interview with WELT TV.
12:43 p.m. – Scholz answers questions from MPs
Chancellor Scholz will be answering questions from MPs in the Bundestag. The government survey is scheduled for 1 p.m. and is expected to last around 70 minutes. After an eight-minute opening statement, Scholz will receive questions from MPs from all parliamentary groups about the current government actions of his red-green minority coalition.
9:20 a.m. – CDU and SPD in Saxony agree on a coalition agreement
In Saxony, the CDU and SPD have largely agreed on a coalition agreement. The contract will be presented in the afternoon, according to negotiating circles in Dresden. Several media outlets had previously reported on the agreement.
8:55 a.m. – Greens leave voting preference open
The Greens are still leaving it open as to whether they will express their confidence in Chancellor Scholz in the vote in the Bundestag planned for December 16th. “We’ll clarify that in good time when it comes to it,” said the deputy parliamentary group leader and Green Party campaign manager Andreas Audretsch on Wednesday on the RTL and ntv program “Early Start”.
7:20 a.m. – “The FDP is on the path to self-destruction” – veteran Baum calls for a new beginning
Former Federal Interior Minister Gerhart Baum accuses the FDP party leadership of serious mistakes. “Our political offerings have been irresponsibly narrowed,” Baum said in an interview with Table Briefings. Further: “The FDP is on the path to self-destruction.” With the D-Day affair, the party had put its own credibility at risk.
Liberal politics must be guided by a sense of responsibility for society as a whole. Instead, the FDP leadership narrowed everything down to the debt brake and the budget. “A party with one percent expertise and four percent share of the vote,” said Baum. “Worse still, it has taken a coalition and an entire country hostage. The relationship is no longer correct.”
Baum called for a “convincing new beginning, whether with or without Christian Lindner”. The party must organize this new beginning at a special party conference before Christmas. “If action is not taken now, we will disappear.”
4:20 p.m. – Merz angry – SPD misquoted him on “Putin Ultimatum”.
Union chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz rejects allegations from the SPD that he threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with an ultimatum. “I never gave Putin an ultimatum,” said the CDU leader. “I have offered Ukraine, from our point of view, to lift the range limitation and to enable Taurus delivery, each with conditions that Ukraine determines.” The SPD misrepresented his statements, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said that he spoke Russian Play roulette.
Merz has commented several times on the delivery of the Taurus cruise missiles, which the Chancellor rejects. In a circular email on October 19th, he called on the Chancellor, together with France and Great Britain, to send the following message to Putin: “If the war terror against the civilian population does not stop within 24 hours, the range restrictions on the weapons supplied will be lifted. If that’s not enough, Germany will deliver Taurus cruise missiles to destroy the Russian army’s supply routes.” He made similar comments in the “Stern” interview.
2:05 p.m. – Survey: FDP only at three percent nationwide
In a new Forsa survey, the FDP only has three percent. According to the RTL/ntv trend barometer, only 17 percent of those surveyed believe that the federal FPD in its current constitution would still be able to participate in a government. The background is the publication of the internal “D-Day” paper, according to which the FDP had been planning to exit the “traffic light” coalition for weeks. 77 percent deny her ability to govern. Of those surveyed who voted for the Liberals in 2021, 67 percent do not currently believe the party is capable of governing.
8:50 a.m. – AfD board aims to dissolve Junge Alternative
The AfD’s federal executive board is seeking to dissolve the controversial youth organization Junge Alternative. A party spokesman confirmed consistent media reports to AFP that a change to the party statutes is planned, which will enable the establishment of a new youth organization. However, the corresponding recommendation of the Federal Executive Board must be confirmed by a two-thirds majority at the party conference in Riesa, Saxony, in January.
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the Junge Alternative as a suspected right-wing extremist case and therefore as an object of observation. In some regional associations in East Germany it is listed as definitely right-wing extremist. There had been dissatisfaction with the Junge Alternative for a long time among the party leadership and considerations of founding a new youth organization.
7:19 a.m. – Merz sees similarities with the Greens
According to its candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Union shares more foreign policy positions with the Greens than with the SPD. When asked who he could work better with after a successful federal election, the CDU politician told “Bild”: “In foreign and security policy there is certainly more in common with the Greens than with the SPD. When it comes to the Greens’ economic policy, we have a completely different opinion; we need a fundamental change of course.”
Merz emphasized that the voters had their say first. The Union is also not running a coalition election campaign. “We are fighting for every vote. And after the federal election we will then talk to the democratic parties in the political center about how we can achieve this change of course,” he said.
Monday, December 2nd
4:32 p.m. – SPD MP admits cocaine use – and renounces his candidacy for the Bundestag
The Osnabrück member of the Bundestag Manuel Gava (SPD) has admitted that he regularly consumed cocaine – and is withdrawing his candidacy again. The 33-year-old explained in an interview with the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” that he wanted to escape the pressure of Berlin politics and private problems. The confession followed research by the “NOZ” and the “Tagesspiegel”, in which there was evidence of Gava’s drug use.
“I screwed up,” the SPD politician told the newspapers. “That was especially on the weekend. I gave it a lot of gas in the evenings to distract myself.” He admitted that he could not stand the constant stress of being a member of the Bundestag and a public figure and that he had consumed cocaine “with a certain regularity” over a period of several months from the summer to the end of 2023.
