In Germany, a government began to work under the leadership of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The new office has no time for swinging and celebrating. As soon as they were appointed, the ministers began to discuss antiquarian measures. And on Friday, Mr. Scholz will go on his first foreign visit – to neighboring France.
“I swear to devote my energies to the well-being of the German people, to increase its benefits, to protect it from harm, to observe and protect the Basic Law and federal laws, to fulfill my duties in good faith and to pay tribute to everyone” – the words of the Federal Chancellor’s oath were pronounced by the leader of the Social Democrats Olaf Scholz in Wednesday afternoon. From that moment on, he officially took up his duties. The text of the oath has remained unchanged for decades. But each chancellor decides for himself whether to pronounce the last phrase: “May God help me.”
Mr. Scholz became the second Federal Chancellor after Gerhard Schroeder who refrained from these words. And this became the only liberty in the strictly defined protocol of the ceremony.
Olaf Scholz was clearly worried. The 63-year-old politician has been climbing the German political Olympus for a long time. He was Minister of Labor and Public Works, mayor of Hamburg, and for the last three years Minister of Finance and Vice-Chancellor. He is often called the country’s most boring politician, but as his predecessor Angela Merkel said before leaving office, she will sleep peacefully, knowing that power is in the hands of Mr. Scholz.
On Wednesday morning, the Bundestag gathered to vote by secret ballot for or against the candidacy of Olaf Scholz, officially nominated for the post of Chancellor by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The name of the potential chancellor was agreed in advance by a coalition of three political forces – the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Union of 90 / Greens and the Free Democratic Party of Germany – dubbed the traffic light coalition by party colors. Together they have 416 seats in the Bundestag.
And the main intrigue of the day was the question: how many votes will Mr. Scholz receive. As a result, 395 out of 707 deputies who were present at the meeting voted for him, 303 were against and six abstained. Another 29 deputies were absent from the meeting, including due to illness. Therefore, so far the German media are in no hurry to assess how stable the “traffic light coalition” is, although they suggest that some of its members are unhappy with the distribution of government seats. But the public has already expressed its opinion.
According to a poll conducted by YouGov for DPA, 44% of respondents believe that Olaf Scholz will not hold on as chancellor for more than four years and will not be re-elected to a second term.
And a Forsa poll shows that Angela Merkel remains the most popular politician in Germany and is 15% ahead of Olaf Scholz.
For Angela Merkel, Wednesday was the last day she held the Chancellor’s chair. She did not manage to break the record in this post. Helmut Kohl headed the government for 5870 days. Ms Merkel was less than ten days before this figure. But she has earned no less respect and love from her colleagues (and even political opponents). This was evidenced by the prolonged applause with which she was greeted by the members of the Bundestag before the start of the vote for the new chancellor. The audience rose, and Madame Chancellor had to rise from her seat several times and thank the deputies. It was evident that she was moved.
A few hours later, after President Olaf Scholz presented him with an official letter of appointment as chancellor and after taking the oath, a symbolic ceremony of transferring power to him from Angela Merkel took place. “I cordially congratulate, dear Mr. Chancellor, dear Olaf Scholz. Take this department into your own hands and work for the good of our country. This is my desire, ”the former chancellor said.
Even before this ceremony, the Chancellor’s website changed its address. If earlier it was called bundeskanzlerin.de (the feminine noun “chancellor”), then with the inauguration of Olaf Scholz, the site was named bundeskanzler.de – in the masculine gender. What other changes will follow with the arrival of the new government worries many both in Germany and abroad.
One of the main challenges for Germany is the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The day before Olaf Scholz was sworn in, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the country for the first time since February exceeded 500 people. The number of confirmed new cases of infection increased by 69,601. Against this background, all ceremonies on Wednesday were held in compliance with strict quarantine measures: “3G rules” (in Russian this can be translated as a rule of “three Ps”: vaccinated, ill, tested).
The deputies who disagreed with the quarantine measures were sitting apart. These were mainly representatives of the populist party “Alternative for Germany”, who opposed vaccinations and antiquated restrictions. True, most of the country’s residents agree with the tightening of the rules. Restrictions on contacts for unvaccinated against COVID-19 citizens are supported by 75% of those surveyed.
In addition to internal problems, the new chancellor intends to immediately deal with external ones. On Friday, he will go on his first overseas trip.
Like Angela Merkel in his time, Olaf Scholz chose Paris for his foreign policy debut. Then he is expected in Brussels and Warsaw.
The new German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock, in turn, will first go to Brussels, and this weekend will be able to meet her colleagues from the USA, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Canada in Liverpool, where the meeting of the G7 foreign ministers will take place. From January 1, Germany will assume the chairmanship of this group, and many Western partners expect the FRG to answer the question of what its policy towards Russia will be.
The day before, Mr. Scholz promised continuity in foreign policy and foreign economic affairs, but Berlin is under severe pressure in connection with the commissioning of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. So, on Wednesday, British Foreign Minister Liz Truss, speaking at the Royal Institute of International Relations, said that Europe should avoid strategic dependence on Russian gas. “If Russia gets what it wants, Europe will increasingly hang on the hook for its gas,” she said.
“We all know that relations between our countries regarding central political issues are rather complicated, that is, our governments on important political issues adhere to opposite positions, which are clearly indicated, and it will take a long time before we find a common position,” he said in Wednesday Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Russian Federation Geza Andreas von Geir.
But he immediately added: “Both in Moscow and in Berlin, I hear signals that indicate openness and readiness to discuss global problems and challenges, and develop joint approaches.”
For its part, Moscow hopes that the certification of Nord Stream will be completed on schedule, and on the whole expresses its readiness for the productive development of bilateral relations. “I look forward to establishing a constructive dialogue with you and working together on topical issues on the bilateral and international agenda. This, undoubtedly, would meet the fundamental interests of Russians and Germans, would contribute to the consolidation of stability and security at the regional and global levels, ”the text of the congratulations of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to Olaf Scholz on the inauguration of the latter reads. A telegram was also sent to Angela Merkel. Vladimir Putin addressed her as “you”, expressed “sincere gratitude for the fruitful cooperation” and assured her of the continuation of friendly communication.
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