Persistent instability: About German politics

German politics has been in turmoil since the pro-market Liberal Democratic Party withdrew from the three-party coalition last month, causing Chancellor Olaf Scholz to lose his parliamentary majority. Scholz initially tried to cling to power by leading a minority government, but amid criticism and concerns that postponing the inevitable snap election could further damage the chances of Scholz’s Social Democratic Party. , the Prime Minister called for a vote of confidence on Monday. The outcome was known in advance – on the same day, his government collapsed and the country was forced into early elections. The Scholz government, which took office after the 2021 federal elections in which the Social Democrats won the majority of seats, remained unstable from day one. The Social Democrats and the Greens supported increased public spending, while the Liberal Democrats pushed for austerity. The government lacked coordination, and it was the financial crisis that exacerbated the fighting within the coalition. Germany, once Europe’s economic powerhouse, has been in recession for two years. The government’s approval ratings plummeted as the coalition government failed to reach agreement on how to deal with the financial crisis. In November, Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner (Free Democratic Party), sealing the government’s fate. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is now likely to call an election in February 2025, seven months earlier than planned.

When Chancellor Angela Merkel was in power, her conservative coalition succeeded in achieving political stability, economic growth, and a fine balance between great powers. Even amid tensions between Russia and Ukraine over the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Merkel and the French leadership worked with their Russian counterparts, resulting in the two Minsk agreements. However, two months after Scholz became prime minister, Russia invaded Ukraine. Germany could do little to prevent war, but it joined Western powers in imposing sanctions against Russia, which also hurt Europe’s economy. The Nord Stream pipeline, built to carry Russian gas to Germany, was allegedly blown up by Ukrainians. The war exacerbated the energy crisis in the West, which in turn affected the cost of living crisis. After that, it snowballed into a large-scale economic collapse and caused political instability. Germany is not alone in its struggle with economic hardship and political instability. In neighboring France, the government collapsed after three months and President Emmanuel Macron appointed a new prime minister, but he still lacks a majority in parliament. Elsewhere on the continent, far-right parties with neo-Nazi views are making a comeback. Scholz is likely to lead the Social Democratic Party in the election, but the frontrunner is the conservative Christian Democratic Party. A trial by fire awaits the winner.