Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government is at loggerheads over Germany’s economic policy and the fate of the next year’s federal budget, state broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) reported on Monday. Disagreements within the three-party coalition are reportedly so profound that they risk undermining its stability, the media outlet relayed, describing it as a descent “into crisis mode.”

The German parliament is due to pass the 2025 budget by the end of this month. The legislature’s Budget Committee is scheduled to review the final draft on November 14. According to DW, the government budget draft still has a deficit of “several billion euros” and the coalition partners are struggling to agree on how to overcome this shortfall.

Last week, the German media reported on a policy paper drafted by Finance Minister Christian Lindner [PICTURED AT TOP], the head of the Free Democratic Party (FDP). The 18-page document calls for a radical change in the nation’s economic policy that would involve large-scale tax relief for companies as well as funding cuts for climate protection programs and reduced welfare spending.

The plan has drawn sharp criticism from Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD). “We do not need any papers, but joint action to help the industry quickly and ensure security,”Martin Rosemann, the labor market and social policy spokesman for the SPD in the national legislature told Tagesspiegel last week. “Above all, we do not need any opposition in the government,” he added.

Earlier, Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, himself a Green Party member, proposed a debt-financed multibillion-euro ‘Germany Fund’ to stimulate investment and encourage a transition to a climate-neutral future in his own policy paper. The proposal, however, did not sit well with Lindner and the FDP.

“We simply cannot spend as much money as some people want,” the finance minister said at the time.

With German parliamentary elections due to be held next September, all three coalition parties are seeking to increase their own popularity, often at the expense of government cohesion, DW reported. Last month, Scholz held a meeting with German industry leaders and trade union members but did not invite either Habeck or Lindner, the broadcaster said. The finance minister then responded by organizing a similar meeting of his own.

The popularity ratings of the coalition government have hit rock bottom,” DW reported, adding that the “outlook is grim” for all three parties. The broadcaster also speculated that the FDP could depart the coalition altogether, leaving Scholz with a minority two-party government with the Greens, which would require him to seek situational coalitions in the parliament every time he needed a majority to support the government’s plans.

Scholz himself denied any irreconcilable issues within his cabinet. “The government will do its job,” he told journalists on Monday, when asked about the situation within the coalition. “I am the chancellor, it's about pragmatism and not ideology,” he added. According to DW, the coalition is due to hold a series of meetings this week in a bid to sort out their differences.

https://www.rt.com/news/607061-german-government-crisis-budget-coalition/

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Germany’s ‘traffic-light’ coalition has fallen apart, leaving Olaf Scholz at the helm of a minority government consisting solely of his Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens. This follows the Chancellor's dismissal of Free Democratic Party (FDP) leader Christian Lindner from the position of Finance Minister.

After failed crisis talks on Wednesday night, the Chancellor dismissed the Free Democratic Party (FDP) leader Christian Lindner from the position of Finance Minister.

In response, the FDP's parliamentary group leader, Christian Durr, announced that the party is withdrawing all its ministers from Scholz's government, formally ending the three-way coalition.

The Greens expressed regret over this development but stated they wish to remain part of a minority government, emphasizing the need for the EU – and Germany in particular – to demonstrate its capacity for action following Donald Trump's election as US President.

“I want to say for us that this feels wrong and not right tonight – almost tragic on a day like this, when Germany must show unity and the ability to act in Europe,” said Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck in a joint press statement with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday night.

“This is not a good day for Germany and also not a good day for Europe,” Baerbock added.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner was fired after he reportedly proposed early elections when the leaders of the three coalition parties once again failed to find common ground on how to address the multibillion-euro deficit in next year’s budget.

“All too often, Minister Lindner has blocked laws in an inappropriate manner,” Scholz stated, accusing Lindner of refusing to ease spending rules which among other things would allow for more aid to Ukraine.

Lindner, in turn, accused the Chancellor of ignoring the real “economic concerns” of the German people. “Olaf Scholz has long failed to recognize the need for a new economic awakening in our country,” Lindner said.

Scholz said he now wants to reach out to opposition leader Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democrats to offer him the “opportunity” to collaborate with his government, adding that in light of the US elections, this is “perhaps more urgent than ever.”

Meanwhile, the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) opposition party welcomed the coalition's collapse as a long-overdue “liberation” for Germany.

“After months of gridlock and countless self-centered therapy sessions, we now urgently need a fundamental political fresh start to lead the economy and the country as a whole out of the severe crisis into which it has been plunged by the ideology-driven policies of the SPD, Greens, and FDP,” said AfD parliamentary leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla in a statement on X.

Scholz announced that the Bundestag will hold a vote of confidence on January 15. According to the German constitution, if the Chancellor fails to secure sufficient support, he may formally request the President to dissolve the 733-seat lower house and call new elections within 60 days. This could push Germany's parliamentary elections from next fall to March 2025.

https://www.rt.com/news/607258-scholz-government-vote-of-confidence/

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

“It’s hard to do cartoons without grates…”

         Gus Leonisky