Donald Trump’s victory was expected to close the ranks of the coalition in power in Berlin from 2021; finally precipitated its explosion. On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 6, the Social Democratic Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, called for the departure of his Finance Minister, the president of the Liberal Democratic Party (FDP), Christian Lindner, with whom relations had become notoriously stormy.
The decision marks the end of the so-called majority of “traffic light”formed by the social democrats of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP, since it places the chancellor and his government de facto in a minority in the Bundestag. In all likelihood, early legislative elections will be held at the beginning of 2025, at the latest at the end of March, since Olaf Scholz announced that he would submit to a vote of confidence by deputies on January 15. The next legislative elections were initially scheduled for September 28, 2025.
“ I am forced to make this decision to avoid any damage to our country, Olaf Scholz told reporters on Wednesday evening. We need a government capable of acting, that has the strength to make the necessary decisions. » He indicated that he wanted to approach the leader of the opposition, the president of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, already a declared candidate for the chancellorship, to “ cooperate » on economic policy and defense. “ Our economy cannot wait until new elections are held. “We need clarity on how we will fund our security and defense in the coming years.” said Olaf Scholz.
An alliance of opposites
The other three liberal ministers of the government (Justice, Transport and Education) announced their withdrawal in the afternoon, while Christian Lindner, for his part, accused the chancellor of having deliberately orchestrated the breakup, imposing unacceptable conditions, such as the suspension of the ” debt brake”, constitutional provision that limits the structural deficit of the federal state to 0.35% of the gross domestic product each year.
Despite the coincidence of the timing, the US elections are only marginally responsible for the political chaos rocking the euro zone’s largest economy. In recent months, disputes within the government have become almost daily, pitting the Greens and the SPD, attached to the social state, against the FDP, defender of budgetary rigor. This alliance of opposites worked more or less in a dynamic economy, managing to agree on social issues or issues such as the modernization of the State. But their ideological contradictions became more difficult to overcome when the recession placed the question of public finances at the center of the debate.
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