German Chancellor Scholz runs out of patience

Olaf Scholz seemed calm and composed when he addressed the media on Wednesday evening. The chancellor, who has often been criticized for coming across as dull and technocratic, displayed confidence and determination when he explained why he had just dismissed his Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, chairman of the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP).
The FDP will now withdraw all its ministers from Germany’s three-way governing coalition, and Scholz plans to head a minority government consisting of his center-left Social Democrats and the environmentalist Greens for a few weeks.
This announcement was a bombshell.
“I was forced to take this step in order to avert damage to our country,” said Scholz.
He recounted how during the day, he had submitted a “comprehensive plan to the finance minister to close the €10 billion ($10.7 billion) gap in the 2025 budget.
This shortfall was one of the issues that finally drove the three coalition parties apart.
Last week, a paper by Christian Lindner was made public. It listed a series of financial and economic proposals that had not been agreed upon with the other parties.
This included the demand to cut welfare payments, reduce climate protection measures, and implement tax cuts for companies.
Lindner this week rejected Scholz’s new proposals for the 2025 budget leading the chancellor to say: “The finance minister shows no willingness to implement this proposal for the good of our country. I no longer want our country to have to continue to suffer this kind of behavior.”
The chancellor spoke with a slight vocal tremor, indicating how personal things had become for him.
He bitterly attacked Lindner’s “petty political tactics” and accused him of a level of egoism that is “completely incomprehensible.”
“Finance Minister Lindner showed no willingness to implement any of our proposals,” Scholz said.
He added that German companies need immediate support and “anybody who refuses that is acting irresponsibly,” in reference to the impasse with Lindner.
He went on to explain what his proposals had included taking out additional debt to bring down energy prices, especially for companies, to save jobs in the ailing car industry, to offer tax incentives to companies that make investments, and to increase support for Ukraine.
Chancellor Scholz announced his intention to continue working with the Green Party in a minority government and to seek a vote of confidence on January 15, 2025.
He will then probably lose this vote, which would pave the way for new elections in March.
Scholz announced his intention to reach out to the conservative opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU).
He said he would approach CDU chairman Friedrich Merz to forge cooperation on two pressing issues: Bolstering defense and strengthening the economy.
“Because our economy cannot wait until new elections have taken place. And we need clarity now on how we will solidly finance our defense in the coming years,” Scholz argued.
Scholz’s speech was so detailed that it was hard to imagine that the chancellor had only just put it all together today.
In just under 20 minutes, he managed to explain his reasoning for dismissing the FDP from his government, and also put pressure on the opposition to join forces now in difficult times.
Finally, he also appealed to his compatriots to look forward with confidence. He referred to Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election: “Anyone who has watched the US in recent weeks saw a country that is deeply divided. A country where political differences have destroyed friendships and families,” Scholz said, concluding that this should not happen in Germany.
Scholz then left the scene without taking any questions after certainly his most impressive speech to date. It is clear how much frustration has built up in this man in recent weeks.
Whether the politicians in his government and, above all, the opposition will support his plan is more than uncertain. But, for the moment, Olaf Scholz, who has so often appeared hesitant and tortured, seemed to be at peace with himself.
This article was originally written in German.
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