Olaf Scholz and his coalition are more unpopular than any government before. Unrest is growing in the SPD. On the road with a chancellor under pressure.
On a gray Thursday morning, Olaf Scholz leaves the Chancellery. Without his coat, he heads towards the main gate, the large glass door opens in front of him, and his car waits behind it. Another quick look to the left at some guests in the foyer. Then the Chancellor steps out into the cold, and seconds later he is gone.
Scholz is going to the Bundestag. A roll call vote is pending. His next appointments have been postponed. It almost looks as if the Chancellor has to personally ensure that his majority still stands. He can’t be sure about that these days.
Behind Scholz lies a new year to forget. Bad atmosphere, bad press, disastrous survey results. Farmers honk their way across the country on tractors, the economy is shrinking, ministers are distancing themselves from their own government, coalition partners and party friends are stabbing the Chancellor in the back, and at a European Handball Championship game, spectators greet him with boos and whistles. The new year is still at the beginning, so you have to ask yourself whether Scholz is already at the end – and what that would actually mean.
It’s not just about him. 2024 is a year of important elections, in Europe, in three federal states, in many municipalities. For Scholz, it is also a question of whether his chancellorship will be associated with a shift to the right that the Federal Republic has never experienced before. Whether his name will stand for a phase in which the country has become ungovernable for democratic parties in some regions.
How is the Chancellor dealing with this?
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
