Chancellor Olaf Scholz has admitted errors in the work of the traffic light coalition. When asked what part he had in the government’s appearance, the SPD politician told the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”: “As Chancellor, I bear responsibility for the government. Period. So it would be absurd to say that I had nothing to do with it “Unfortunately, it has only rarely been possible to make important decisions without protracted public debates. We have to take credit for that, and I could have easily done without it.” When asked whether this was a form of self-criticism, Scholz said: “Yes.”
During its more than two years in office, the coalition of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP has had many, sometimes hard-fought, public disputes, for example over the heating law or basic child welfare. The coalition parties are doing poorly in polls.
Scholz is confident
However, Scholz was confident that there will be an improvement: “The fact that after the ruling from Karlsruhe we have now managed to draw up a proper budget that meets our current challenges gives me hope. Together with the resolutions on citizens’ money, migration and “With the expansion of wind power and solar energy, this can be a good basis for the government to regain trust.”
Scholz said he perceived the mood in the country as “restless”. “You can feel the economic and political upheaval in the country that the Russian attack on Ukraine has caused. At the same time, you can feel uncertainty because we, as an economically strong country, are currently in the process of setting the course so that it will be the same here in 20 and 30 years There are still good jobs and we remain at the forefront of technology.”
The coalition is not taking the easy route, but is taking on conflicts in view of the great challenges, said Scholz. In the past 10 or 15 years, far too much has been left undone because governments have avoided conflict.
Chancellor for the AfD
Regarding the AfD’s strengthening, the Chancellor said: “The genie is out of the bottle.” Pushing back this will be “difficult when it comes to those who have right-wing views.” The others have to be convinced “by making policies that lead our country on the right path and address the problems” – for example with migration.
Regarding the debate about a possible ban on the party, Scholz said that the relevant authorities, especially the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, were dealing with this question. “In the foreseeable future, our highest court will also decide on a lawsuit brought by the AfD that objects to the party as a whole being monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. And just this week there was a landmark ruling excluding the NPD from party financing. This is an important decision that must now be carefully evaluated. Regardless of all this, I am convinced that the AfD must, above all, be fought politically.” Right-wing populism is “poison for our coexistence and our democracy.”
