New elections soon? Greens are also open

After the traffic lights went out, the Greens appeared open to an earlier election date. “We Greens could easily live with an earlier date. We have done our work and are prepared for everything,” said outgoing party leader Omid Nouripour to “Bild am Sonntag”. The Union criticized the debate about the risks of an early election as absurd and accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) of instrumentalizing the Federal Returning Officer.

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 Friday he called for an agreement in the Bundestag about which laws should still be passed. SPD General Secretary Matthias Miersch had also signaled his willingness to talk. “Olaf Scholz has offered that we come to a specific 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 Germany ticket,” he told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.

The Union’s candidate for chancellor, Friedrich Merz, told “Stern” about this offer: “We can talk about it as soon as Olaf Scholz has asked the vote of confidence in the German Bundestag. His government statement on Wednesday would be a good opportunity for this.” Every day with a red-green minority government in office is a lost day for the necessary political new beginning.

Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck also expressed doubts about possible conditions for a quick vote of confidence. However, this step is a matter for the Chancellor himself and must also be weighed against the organization of a safe election, the Green politician emphasized on Saturday on the sidelines of a visit to Neuhardenberg. Nouripour made a similar statement: A question of trust is original, emotional and, above all, according to the Basic Law, exclusively a matter for the Federal Chancellor, he told “Bild am Sonntag”. “We have to respect that as a party.”

Meanwhile, the Union criticized not only Scholz, but also Federal Returning Officer Ruth Brand. In a letter to Scholz, she appealed not to rush into the date for a new election. This is risky for organizational reasons.

“I can therefore only advise the Federal Returning Officer not to allow anyone to exploit her,” said Thorsten Frei, Parliamentary Managing Director of the Union faction in the Bundestag, to “Bild am Sonntag”. The debate is simply absurd. “We have to be careful not to make ourselves look ridiculous internationally with a debate at this level,” said Frei.

CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann made similar comments in the newspaper. “The Federal Returning Officer’s statements are scandalous and shameful and are a reflection of what is going on in Germany.” There are clear regulations in the constitution, the returning officer’s assessment is therefore completely unacceptable.

Hesse’s Prime Minister Boris Rhein said that the ghost must be put to an end. “We have a failed government and if a government fails, it has to face the voters and cannot now stay afloat for a few weeks or months through any tricks,” said the CDU politician in Frankfurt am Main on the sidelines of the 42nd . German sports press ball.

In her letter, the Federal Returning Officer wrote, among other things, that there could be problems with the procurement of paper and the commissioning of printing service providers. The paper industry association contradicted this. When asked whether the German industry could deliver the necessary paper for voting documents for a new election in January quickly enough, the association told the ZDFheute.de portal: “Clear answer: Yes. If ordered on time, we can supply the paper required for a new election deliver an early federal election.”