In the battle for a date for the new elections in Germany, the opposition CDU/CSU has now stepped up a gear and is no longer pushing for January, for which the deadline has already passed anyway. Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz is now aiming for February.
SPD leader and Chancellor Olaf Scholz originally wanted to ask for a vote of no confidence on January 15 in order to hold new elections at the end of March. After strong public pressure, he appeared on Sunday in the ARD program ‘Caren Miosga’ to be ready to ask the question of confidence before Christmas – if the parliamentary faction leaders of the SPD and CDU/CSU, Rolf Mützenich and Friedrich Merz, reach an agreement . agreement on this.
FDP calls for “quick decision on course”
Until then, Scholz, as chairman of a minority government consisting of the SPD and the Greens, wants to work with the Union parties on important legislative decisions. But apparently the CDU/CSU do not fully agree with this. CSU politician and parliamentary manager Alexander Hoffmann told German media on Monday that all agenda items should be blocked – there should only be exceptions for “events of extreme urgency or unity between parties”. This blockade should last until Scholz has not asked the Bundestag for a vote of confidence, thus paving the way for new elections, it was said.
Like the Union, the FDP, which has left the traffic light coalition, is also pushing for an election date as early as possible. “The most important thing is that the country will soon be able to make a guiding decision,” FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai said after his party’s executive committee meeting. Before deciding on the election date, the FDP does not want to commit to supporting reform projects that have not yet been completed.
The verbal battles continue
FDP faction leader Christian Dürr warned of the economic consequences of a slowdown. “If Olaf Scholz has his way, we would not have a new, functioning government until the summer of next year,” he told dpa. “The vacuum into which Olaf Scholz has maneuvered the country costs us jobs and prosperity every day.” German Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) rejected the FDP’s warnings about a ‘hanging match’. “The FDP is really a fast-thinking party,” he said in Berlin. Last Wednesday she managed to prevent a deadlocked match. That day the coalition collapsed.
The SPD also wants to take its time with its candidate for chancellor
Speaking of new elections: the SPD apparently does not want to choose the candidate for chancellor until the end of January or the beginning of February at a party conference. Secretary General Matthias Miersch on Monday refuted speculation that the SPD could decide on another candidate. “In my opinion, I have had no doubt in recent weeks that Olaf Scholz will be the candidate,” he said. Party leaders Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil have repeatedly made similar statements in recent weeks.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
