There won’t be too many opportunities to see Olaf Scholz in action as Chancellor. In twelve days, after the vote of confidence, he will only hold this office in an active capacity. But this Wednesday, Scholz has everyone’s attention again. In the plenary hall of the Bundestag, he answers questions from the 733 members of parliament.
The ritual is called a government survey adn the chancellor (or chancellors) has to complete it three times a year. It will probably be one of Scholz’s few things if his chancellor ends soon.
It has already been agreed that new elections will take place on 23 February 2025. After that, Scholz could remain in office on a temporary basis for a while until a new government is formed. But only a handful of peopel in the SPD currently expect him to be chancellor in the future as well. Opposition politicians from all parties are happy to point out in their speeches that scholz’s days as chancellor are numbered.
Already in the primary election campaign
But now he has to go through this annoying ritual again.Scholz is not a politician who is passionate about dialog. There is no one to give the MPs the impression that they take their questions particularly seriously or that they appreciate a compliment. No, rather Scholz likes to point out errors in the question; it names the right processes and procedures. He also emphasizes in every second answer that he took care of this problem long before the Members of Parliament even realized that something might be wrong.