Former Federal Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück would like more leadership from Chancellor Olaf Scholz (both SPD). “There is a lack of leadership and orientation in these times of great uncertainty,” said Steinbrück to the “Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung” (Monday). When asked whether it was also due to Scholz’s weak leadership style that the traffic light presented such a disastrous picture, Steinbrück said: “I would insult your judgment and that of your readers if I glossed over it.”
The SPD candidate for chancellor in 2013 also accused the traffic light coalition of technical weaknesses. “When I look at the heating law, basic child welfare and now this cannabis law, it is clear that there is a lack of good craftsmanship. I am expressing myself politely,” said Steinbrück.
He added: “If three coalition partners are constantly at loggerheads and a chancellor in the middle who tends to moderate makes several attempts to hold the coalition together, but then some of those involved believe that they still have to make breakaways, then that obviously doesn’t build trust. “
At the same time, Steinbrück complained about a “tendency toward constant nagging.” “To expect politicians to provide fully comprehensive insurance against all conceivable risks, but to declare them incompetent or worse at the regulars’ table or at the champagne reception, that doesn’t fit,” emphasized the 77-year-old. Politics should encourage, but it should also demand, without an outcry of indignation sweeping across the country.
Steinbrück was finance minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s (CDU) cabinet from 2005 to 2009 and was also deputy SPD chairman during this time. Before that, he was Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia. He was unsuccessful as the SPD candidate for chancellor in 2013. Steinbrück resigned from the Bundestag in 2016.
