Just as unexpectedly as Trump’s clear election victory, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the dissolution of the traffic light coalition and the German federal government a few hours later. While the US presidential elections were widely reported in the Swiss media, the end of the traffic light government was merely a side note. Lenz explains why it would be important for Switzerland to look to Germany Jacobsen, podcaster and editor at the German weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”.
Lenz Jacobsen
Podcaster and editor at “die Zeit”
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Lenz Jacobsen studied economics, politics and sociology in Cologne and Istanbul and has been an editor at “Zeit Online” since 2012. He has been interested in politics and democracy issues for many years. He also runs the transalpine podcast “Servus. Greetings. Hello.”.
SRF News: Many people in Switzerland don’t seem to care too much about what’s happening in Germany. Why not?
Jens Jacobsen: We’re just more boring than the Austrians and not as important as the Americans. Maybe it’s also because the Swiss felt for a long time that they didn’t have to be interested in it because Germany works to some extent. At least in such a way that you don’t have to worry and can be relatively sure that you can continue to send your goods across the border and that it will remain open.
Looking at Germany, Switzerland can learn how problematic it is when everything is solved through money.
Then there is the political system. The US election campaign is about two people facing each other. This is much easier to understand from the outside than with these German coalition questions.
This happened in Germany
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has fired Finance Minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner. Scholz accused Lindner of drowning out compromises during their time in government with publicly staged arguments and blocking laws that were irrelevant. In response to Lindner’s dismissal, the FDP announced that it would withdraw all of its ministers from the federal government. They wanted to submit their resignation to the Federal President as a group, said FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr. The party is thus ending the three-way alliance of the traffic light coalition made up of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP.
Scholz has announced that he will ask the Bundestag for a vote of confidence. He added: “In this way, the members of the Bundestag can decide whether to clear the way for early elections.”
Why should it still be important for us Swiss to look beyond the national border?
Specifically, because Germany is unfortunately no longer so stable. Switzerland could also recognize what might be coming to it, in two senses. Firstly, as those specifically affected: If Germany becomes more unstable, this will have an impact on Switzerland. For example on the economy. Because this is strongly linked to exports to Germany.
If Germany coughs, then Switzerland has a cold.
Then there is a second type of concern: the German government has been making compromises for a very long time by pouring money into everything. If two or three parties wanted something, they simply spent more money. Looking to Germany, Switzerland can learn how problematic it is to solve everything through money and that we need to get better at finding compromises that are not just based on spending more money.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz accuses Finance Minister Christian Lindner of having “blocked decisions inappropriately” and of having “broken his trust too often”.
KEYSTONE/Christoph Soeder
Why is Germany economically important for Switzerland?
There is a saying: If Germany has a cough, then Switzerland has a cold. Because economic changes, which in themselves are not that big, have an impact on Switzerland.
The more chaotic Germany looks, the more peaceful, civil and contented Switzerland looks.
So she can’t pretend that what’s happening in Germany doesn’t affect her. This is the fate of smaller countries. And even though Switzerland is economically strong, it is not as strong as Germany due to its size. Then of course there are all these cross-border commuter stories. So the many people who live in Germany and work in Switzerland and vice versa.
What is this government crisis doing to the Swiss people?
Maybe it makes them feel like they’re actually doing quite well. The more chaotic Germany looks, the more peaceful, civil and contented Switzerland looks. This is a completely normal perceptual effect. The problem would be if one were to conclude that there is no need to do anything, that everything can continue as it is. Switzerland has its own problems and its own challenges.
Ramona Kayser conducted the interview.
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