German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will raise the question of confidence in a month’s time, on December 16, which should formally lead to the dissolution of the Bundestag. But there is no doubt that the campaign for the legislative elections – scheduled for February 23, 2025 – has already begun. A week after the breakup of his coalition, in power since 2021, the 66-year-old Social Democratic Chancellor (SPD), a candidate for his own succession, and his main rival, the conservative Christian Democrat Friedrich Merz (CDU), faced each other directly in front. of the deputies, Wednesday, November 13. What was going to be a simple statement by the head of government in the Bundestag turned into an electoral contest between the candidates for the chancellery and the party leaders, who took turns on the podium for almost three hours.
The day after the American elections, a political crisis began after Olaf Scholz decided to dismiss his Finance Minister, the liberal Christian Lindner (FDP), on the afternoon of November 6, after a new conciliation meeting on the budget that failure. Fundamental ideological disagreements between the head of government and his finance minister over which priorities should be financed as the economy slows led to the explosion of the coalition uniting the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. And with it early legislative elections.
Initially scheduled for September 28, 2025, they will be held on February 23, 2025, according to a tight schedule that was in turn the subject of tough negotiations between a chancellor in favor of late elections and a CDU that wanted to take advantage of the unpopularity. of the government. However, no one seems really prepared for the blitzkrieg that is beginning. “The short electoral campaign will be exhausting”the president of the SPD group, Rolf Mützenich, warned on Wednesday from the podium of the Bundestag.
A call to commitment
The intervention of Olaf Scholz, who addressed the deputies for the first time since November 6, was eagerly awaited. In recent days he has been criticized for the virulence of his statements against his Finance Minister, a very unusual tone for someone whose speeches are known to be monotonous and dispassionate, which has earned him the nickname “Scholzomat.” On Wednesday, the head of government tried to play appeasement and gain height, hoping to differentiate himself from his main adversary, who is reputedly aggressive and whose weakness is never having exercised executive functions in politics.
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