Germany before new elections: Opposition rejects cooperation demanded by Scholz

After the end of the traffic light coalition, the Union and FDP reject the cooperation in the Bundestag offered by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). “It is high time for the Chancellor to ask the question of trust in view of his broken coalition. This is a given and is what the citizens expect,” said the managing director of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei (CDU), to “Welt am Sonntag”. The pending legislative proposals could then be discussed and passed immediately.

After his traffic light coalition broke up, Scholz had shown himself ready to discuss the timing of a vote of confidence and the subsequent new election, after initially mentioning January 15th for the vote of confidence. On the sidelines of the informal EU summit in Budapest, he called for an agreement in the Bundestag on which laws should still be passed.

Habeck doesn’t want a hanging game that lasts too long

Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) expressed doubts about possible conditions for a quick vote of confidence. This step is a matter for the Chancellor himself and must also be weighed up against the organization of a safe election, said the Economics Minister on the sidelines of a visit to Neuhardenberg. He is of the opinion that there shouldn’t be a hanging game that lasts too long. “What I am very skeptical about is whether these good or bad reasons – you can think about it however you want – should be mixed up with the implementation of political pet projects,” said Habeck.

The SPD tells the Union its important legislative proposals

Like Scholz, SPD General Secretary Matthias Miersch also signaled in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” that he was willing to hold talks with the Union – combined with demands. “However, we must always take into account the concerns of the Federal Returning Officer and ensure that a fair and properly prepared election is possible,” said Miersch. And one condition is that the Union helps to decide on certain projects before a new election in the Bundestag.

“Olaf Scholz has offered that we come to a concrete agreement with the Union about which important projects we can advance together in the Bundestag – such as child benefit, long-term care insurance and the Deutschlandticket,” emphasized Miersch. “Once this constructive cooperation is secured, we would be happy to discuss the timing of the vote of confidence and the new elections.”

Miersch particularly called on the Union to jointly adopt the pension package with a stabilization of retirement benefits. “Friedrich Merz said at the Junge Union’s Germany Day that he doesn’t want to lead a pension election campaign: Then let’s set that and the pension level at 48 percent. We can decide on the pension package together.”

Liberals find the Chancellor unbelievable

The FDP once again called on Scholz to quickly clear the way to new elections. The fact that the Chancellor is now delaying this with reference to state political responsibility is completely unbelievable, said FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai to the German Press Agency.

“The Free Democrats had made him an offer to bring the coalition to an orderly end together and to quickly complete time-critical projects. However, he decided otherwise,” said Djir-Sarai. In the failed negotiations to rescue the traffic light coalition, Finance Minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner called for an orderly new election and Scholz fired him.

“The remaining government of the current Federal Chancellor now consists of two candidates for chancellor who no longer have a majority in parliament. Our country is leaderless,” said Djir-Sarai. There is a lack of strength and will to solve the pressing problems and get the economy back on the path to success. The hanging game is irresponsible.

What new election date can the returning officers actually manage?

However, Federal Returning Officer Ruth Brand appealed to Scholz not to rush his schedule. For organizational reasons, a new election in January or February would be risky, she wrote in a letter to the Chancellor.

The federal and state election officials want to meet on Monday for an initial discussion on election preparation. The office of the Federal Returning Officer confirmed a corresponding report from the Germany editorial network. As with regular elections, there is a need for exchange, for example about new procedures following a change in the federal electoral regulations.