German government collapses and Chancellor Scholz fires his finance minister!

BERLIN, Germany (PNN) - November 7, 2024 - The three-way traffic light coalition, named after political Party colors, finally blew up when Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister, triggering a vote of no confidence.

Scholz’s center-Left government was the first to be formed after the retirement of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who anchored European politics for 16 years. Scholz’s “traffic light” coalition - named after the colors of his Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) - has been in power since 2021.

It was precarious from the start. After a short-lived honeymoon on sparse common ground, ideological divisions emerged. The Parties have been engaged in months of infighting - while the German economy stagnated, the coalition Parties sank in public opinion polls, and the far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party drew historic gains in state elections.

It was a budget fight that ultimately brought down everything.

To fill big gaps in next year’s budget, Scholz’s SPD and the Greens have favored state- and debt-financed policies. The FDP, though, is an ardent proponent of the “debt brake.” Enshrined in the Constitution, designed to force balanced budgets, the debt brake can be suspended only in exceptional circumstances - most recently in response to the non-existent coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Scholz said Wednesday that FDP leader and Finance Minister Christian Lindner had been dismissed after rejecting economic proposals.

“The finance minister shows no willingness to implement the offer for the good of our country. I do not want to subject our country to such behavior anymore,” Scholz said, visibly irritated. Scholz alleged that “Lindner only cares about the survival of his own Party.”

Speaking soon after, Lindner shifted blame to the chancellor. “Olaf Scholz has played down the economic concerns of the citizens,” he said. “His counterproposals are dull, unambitious and do nothing to combat the weak growth.”

Lindner said he could not agree to Scholz’s demand to suspend the debt brake and had proposed fresh elections, which Scholz “brusquely rejected.”

The German president, largely a ceremonial position, gets the call to accept or deny a snap election.

German chancellors don’t have the power to call an early election, which lies with the federal president, but they can try to trigger one by deliberately losing a confidence vote in the lower house of Parliament.

Once Scholz fails to garner a majority in the Jan. 15 ballot, he can ask President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a former Social Democrat vice chancellor, to step in and dissolve Parliament. The election would then have to be held within 60 days.

The only thing an election will do is shift the power from one very unstable coalition to another very unstable coalition.

All of the Parties rule out an alliance with AfD and BSW. Combined, that is about 26% of the total.

The last Grand Coalition (SPD and Union) nearly collapsed, and this go around would not even have a majority.

The German and French governments are both nonfunctional.