Scholz outlines ‘consensus’ agenda  ahead of election, woos voter with incentives

Admin I Friday, November 15, 2024

 

BERLIN – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz still hopes to push through legislation on several issues in the coming months including giving legal backing to abortion,

Scholz, in a video message posted on X on Friday, said the German government and parliament are both continuing to work. The collapse of the coalition means majorities will have to be forged in parliament for every item, “but that shouldn’t be impossible in our parliamentary democracy.”

The Social Democrat (SPD) cited a proposal to cut wage taxes from January and a planned increase in child benefits as examples of legislation still on the agenda. He also spoke in favour of a tentative deal to finance the popular Deutschlandticket nationwide monthly transport pass through at least 2025.

A deal with the opposition conservative CDU/CSU bloc to strengthen the independence Germany’s Constitutional Court by enshrining court functions in the German constitution is also expected to remain on the agenda as well.

“These are manageable, consensus projects. But they make a difference,” said Scholz. Scholz has called a vote of confidence in his government for December 16 after firing Finance Minister Christian Lindner last week.

Lindner’s free-market liberal Free Democrats (FDP) responded to his ouster by quitting Scholz’s three-party coalition, leaving the government short of a necessary majority in parliament.

Early elections are expected to be held on February 23. In his video, Scholz said that he expects the election campaign to focus on big issues where the parties hold sharply different opinions.

But Scholz said there will also be a day after the election, when compromises and cooperation will also be required, and warned against the kind of intense polarization and partisan gridlock that has consumed politics in the United States.

“I don’t want that to happen to us in Germany. I am fighting to ensure that we all stay together as a country,” he said, adding that he hopes to see an election campaign marked by honesty and respect from the candidates.