The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, appointed on Thursday, November 7, one of his closest advisors, Jörg Kukies, to the position of Minister of Finance, after having dismissed on Wednesday the head of this portfolio, Christian Lindner (Liberal Democratic Party ). FDP).
An expert in economic issues, Jörg Kukies, 56, takes the reins of this important German ministry in a Government in crisis, and in which only representatives of the FDP and the Green Party remain.
The departure of Christian Lindner logically caused the departure of the FDP from the government and the end of the current government coalition, which no longer has a majority in the Chamber of Deputies. Unless the chancellor tries to remain at the head of a minority government. During a press conference on Wednesday, Olaf Scholz announced that he would seek a vote of confidence on January 15, 2025. New elections could be held in March.
For its part, the German conservative opposition urged the chancellor on Thursday to present no later than “the week [du 11 au 17 novembre] » to a vote of confidence in Parliament, after the breakdown of the ruling coalition.
The tripartite coalition between the Social Democrats, the Greens and the FDP liberals “failed” And we must draw the consequences without delay, declared the president of the Christian Democratic Union, Friedrich Merz, after a meeting of his parliamentary group in Berlin.
“There is no reason to wait”
The end of the coalition registered on Wednesday night “It is the end of this legislature. (…)there is absolutely no reason to raise the question of trust in January [2025] only “declared Friedrich Merz, whose party is the favorite in the polls ahead of the early legislative elections. “There is no reason to wait. We simply cannot afford to have a government without a majority for many months. “We have to act quickly”he insisted.
On the contrary, Olaf Scholz would like to continue governing by passing several important laws between now and the end of the year. To do this, it aims to find majorities case by case in the Bundestag, the Chamber of Deputies.
However, without the support of the conservative opposition bloc, it will be difficult for the Social Democrats and the Environmentalists, the two parties that still form the government coalition, to approve these legislative texts.
Olaf Scholz won a consolation prize on Thursday with the decision of one of the liberal ministers of his government, the Transport Minister, to remain in office and leave his party, the FDP, whose decision to break with him is contested by the tripartite coalition. . “I want to be true to myself”declared Volker Wissing to explain his decision to remain in office.
