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Chancellor Scholz is ready to hear from lawmakers whether they trust him or not and clear the way for a special election
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday, December 11, not only took part in the 7th German-Ukrainian business forum, where he gave an optimistic speech, but also wrote a letter.
The letter is addressed to the president of the Bundestag and contains a request to put to a vote on Monday, December 16, the question of confidence in the chancellor.
"I would like to clear the way for early federal elections. Next Monday, I will explain in detail the reasons for my request in the German Bundestag," Scholz told reporters, returning to his office after a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
It is unlikely that Scholz will say something in the parliament that we do not already know, because after the collapse of the coalition under his leadership, so much has already been announced. Be that as it may, if the deputies then follow the path "that Scholz proposed", the chancellor will propose to the federal president Frank-Walter Steinmeier directly on Monday, without delay, to dissolve the Bundestag. And if the president listens to this proposal, Scholz said (although Steinmeier has long said he would), voters will be able to elect a new Bundestag on February 23.
"In a democracy, it is the voters who determine the course of future politics. You decide how we will answer the important questions before us... All these important questions will be at stake when citizens put their cross on the ballot," the head of government solemnly declared. He listed a number of such urgent questions, one of which sounded like this: "Are we getting closer to a just peace in Ukraine without involving Germany in the war?"...
Ukrinform already wrote that Ukraine has become an important factor in the election campaign, which is already in full swing. But now it's not about that, but about the elections.
Early elections in Germany are an extraordinary phenomenon. In the history of the country, they happened four times, three times in Germany: in 1972, 1983 and 2005.
Let's take a short excursion into history.
1930s
At the beginning of the 1930s, there was a real electoral disorder in Germany.
The first early parliamentary elections in German history were held on July 31, 1932, after the dissolution of the Reichstag amid economic depression, rising unemployment, and political strife. It was then that the National Socialist German Workers' Party became the largest faction for the first time, but did not receive an absolute majority. Together with their staunch enemies, the Communists, the Nazis controlled the majority in the parliament, but it was not possible to form a coalition, because the rest of the parties together had less than half of the mandates.
Therefore, the next elections were held on November 6 of the same year and became the last democratic elections before the final seizure of power by the Nazis. During these few months, although Adolf Hitler's party lost a few percent, it still remained the largest political force in the parliament. At the same time, the communists under the leadership of Ernst Thelman strengthened their positions. The result was the same as in July - the impossibility of creating an effective coalition.
The first government of Adolf Hitler on January 30, 1933 / Photo: German Federal Archives
However, on January 30, 1933, a coalition cabinet headed by Hitler was formed, who dissolved the Reichstag two days after coming to power and called new special elections, which took place on March 5. They passed in an atmosphere of terror, because they were preceded by the arson of the Reichstag building on the evening of February 27, which was blamed on the Communists. Despite this, the communists were able to enter the parliament, although after a very short time the KPN deputies were deprived of their mandates. Deputies from the Social Democratic Party also got into the parliament, although the SPD executive committee was forced to emigrate to Prague.
Everyone knows what happened between 1933 and 1945.
1972
The reason for the extraordinary elections to the German Bundestag on November 19, 1972 was interesting. It consisted in the fact that the coalition of the Social Democratic Party and the Free Democratic Party lost its majority. And it happened because several deputies left both parties as a sign of disagreement with the "Eastern policy" of Willy Brandt, who a year earlier had received the Nobel Peace Prize for this very policy.
It will be recalled that the policy was aimed at easing the tension between the countries of Eastern and Western Europe. In the period from 1970 to 1973, Chancellor Brandt signed bilateral agreements with the USSR, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. And also with the German Democratic Republic, by which he recognized that Germany had lost its eastern lands forever, and guaranteed that they would never be returned by force. In addition, a quadrilateral agreement was concluded with the USA, the USSR and Great Britain and France on the special status of West Berlin, according to which it ceased to be considered a constituent part of Germany, although its residents were given the opportunity to have German passports. Willy Brandt visited the USSR several times, including Crimea.
The 1972 elections were extraordinary, but SPD not only confirmed its result as the most popular party at that time, but also improved it.
Helmut Kohl, October 1, 1982 / Photo: Bundesregierung/Wegmann
1983
Federal elections to the Bundestag were also held on March 6, 1983. In them, the CDU/CSU bloc of Christian parties won the majority of seats, and CDU leader Helmut Kohl was re-elected to the post of federal chancellor.
Before that, Kohl became chancellor in a rather unconventional way - in 1982, when his party was not even part of the ruling coalition. After the 1980 elections, a coalition of Social Democrats and Liberals broke up. One of the most important issues then became the question of weapons after the adoption of NATO's double decision. (This is a system of military-strategic decisions adopted by the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, France and the Federal Republic of Germany on December 12, 1979 in NATO on the application of two parallel and complementary approaches: strengthening defense capabilities and facilitating negotiations on disarmament and arms control). At that time, the ESDECs had unexpected opponents - the "Green" party.
So, when the question arose in the Bundestag, his CDU/CSU faction and the majority of VDP members voted for Kol, who subsequently "flowed" into the new government.
And the "Greens" entered the parliament for the first time in the same 1983.
2005
In the "most recent" history, after the reunification of Germany, there was also a reason to hold extraordinary parliamentary elections. The then-ruling SPD (which - who would have thought a quarter of a century ago - ruled in coalition with the "Greens") lost the local elections in the key state of North Rhine-Westphalia in May 2005, and the federal chancellor, the infamous Gerhard Schröder, put in the Bundestag the question of trust in him and as a result he received a vote of no confidence completely unexpectedly for himself.
Elections were held on September 18, 2005, about a year earlier than planned. As a result, the conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the SPD (but already in the role of a junior partner) formed a coalition, and Germany received the first female chancellor in history - Angela Merkel, who was able to hold on to this position for four long terms.
Returning to the present, let us remind you that the German constitution provides for clear procedures and time frames for the matter to reach "unscheduled" elections. In the current situation, everyone involved seems to have decided to act in the shortest possible time. For example, the president can dissolve the parliament already on the day of the vote of confidence, although he has the right to think for 21 days.
All this forces election campaigns to be conducted in turbo mode. And here we will again recall Ukraine, which was unexpectedly visited in recent days by the two main contenders for the chancellorship - Scholz and CDU leader Friedrich Merz.
In the meantime, until the formation of a new coalition, the federal government and the Bundestag will remain fully functioning bodies.
"And this is very true: life always goes on. Citizens have the right that the Bundestag and the federal government, as well as all political forces, do their job and work together for the good of the country. Therefore, today I am addressing the deputies of the German Bundestag: let's act together, in the interests of the citizens! A coalition of the democratic center on these important issues would be a strong signal. Let's show this example together!" - urged Scholz on Wednesday.
Spectators take their seats in the hall...
Olga Tanasychuk, Berlin
First photo: Getty Images
