The Social Democratic politician will take the place of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was in power for 16 years.
The post-Merkel era has begun and the very soon successor to the German Chancellor will be the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, who announced on Wednesday that there is already an agreement to form a government with the Greens and the Liberals (FDP). His first great challenge will be to face a serious crisis due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Almost two months after the German legislative elections, marked by a historic collapse of the conservative camp of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Scholz prepares to take office in early December with an unprecedented alliance between social democrats, environmentalists and liberals.
These three formations claimed that they agreed on a coalition “contract” called “Daring More Progress. Alliance for Freedom, Justice and Sustainability ”, with great environmental proposals, such as advancing the end of the use of coal to 2030, instead of 2038.
“The SPD, the Greens and the FDP agreed on a common coalition contract in the negotiations and on a new government alliance,” he said, promising a “peer-to-peer coalition.”
This political combination was never in power in post-WWII Germany.
Scholz “will be a strong chancellor,” promised FDP leader Christian Lindner.
The future head of Government, 63 years old and who has yet to be sworn in by the Bundestag deputies, promised that he would do everything possible to combat the new wave of COVID-19 that is shaking the country, the worst since the start of the pandemic. .
Among the announced measures, a sum of 1,000 million euros will be allocated to health personnel “particularly demanded” by the pandemic, said Scholz.
Germany also has to “study” a possible “extension” of the mandatory vaccination, in force in the army and soon in medical centers.
The formation of a government in Germany will reassure European countries, uneasy to see the country with no one at the helm, at a time when the pandemic is resurfacing.
Another measure that the new coalition wants to implement, according to the government agreement, is to legalize cannabis, the sale of which in “authorized stores” will be reserved for use by “adults”.
“This will allow quality control, prevent the circulation of contaminated substances and guarantee the protection of young people,” says the agreement, which details that “the social impact of the law” will be evaluated within four years.
In 2017, Germany had already given the green light to the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes.
In addition, the new Government wishes to return “in 2023” to the rigorous budgetary rules, including the brake on indebtedness inscribed in the Constitution.
Scholz has already taken his first steps on the international scene by accompanying Angela Merkel to the G20 summit last month in Rome.
For the first time in 16 years, the SPD, which won the legislative elections with 25.7% of the vote, will once again lead the government of the main European economy.
Result of the compromise between the three formations, the “coalition contract” defines all the economic, environmental and political reforms of the next government, whose composition will be revealed shortly.
Annalena Baerbock, 40, the environmentalists’ candidate, should take the lead in German diplomacy, in a government of parity between men and women, according to the press.
The Finance portfolio, one of the most important, would be for the leader of the FDP, Christian Lindner, defender of the orthodox line of public deficits.
The co-president of the Greens, Robert Habeck, would take over a large Ministry of Climate, at a key moment in the fight against climate change, in a country that is among the most polluting in the world. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
