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Image source, Reuters
Angela Merkel, who won Germany’s general election and has been vice president for three years, is now in office.
The German parliament, the Bundestag, on Wednesday appointed Olaf Scholz as its new president.
Its formation, co-ruling with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), Los Verdes and the Free Democratic Party, was baptized as the “Semaphore government” by the colors of the parties that formed it (red for social democrats, green for green and yellow for liberal democrats).
Indicates the handing over of power The end of 31 years of political life 16 of them were presidents- Merkel– Longtime receptionist at Bundestock.
Long political career
Scholz, 63, has been at the forefront of German politics for many years, so this should come as no surprise to voters.
It is seen as a Stability and moderate guarantee, And in the September elections he led the victory to the German Left, which he had opposed for many years.
“Chancellor Scholes is not known for his charisma or his inspirational speeches. In fact, he bears an incredible resemblance to Angela Merkel in her style, her attitude and even her policies,” Jenny Hill, a BBC correspondent in Germany, underlined.
Image source, EPA
At the inauguration of Olaf Scholes as the new president.
He married his SPD partner, Britta Ernst, who grew up in Hamburg and entered politics as the leader of a young socialist who studied labor law.
He was mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018 and was first elected to the Bundestag in 1998.
It has been there since 2018 Deputy Minister and Minister of Finance In Merkel’s coalition government.
His practical handling of the COVID-19 crisis earned him much praise and recognition.
Epidemic management
As Minister of Finance, Olaf Scholz oversaw the emergency finance package 750,000 million euros (US $884,000 million) Made by the federal government to help German companies and workers escape the plague.
“We put all our weapons on the table to show that we are strong enough to deal with any economic challenges this issue may present,” Scholes said.
As a precautionary measure, he chaired cabinet meetings when President Merkel had to isolate himself.
Despite all the problems caused by the epidemic, Scholes was loyal to his left-wing roots and had a platform to manage large-scale state interests and fight for social cohesion.
Before his candidacy for the presidency was announced, when asked if he would run, he said: “We have to work and not take ourselves for granted.”
Image source, EPA
Olaf Scholes was part of the government led by Angela Merkel for almost three years.
With France, so did Scholes Architect of the Recovery Fund European union.
However, his opponents questioned his record as finance minister and accused him of failing. Two major financial scandals: Wirecard and cum-X business fraud.
The collapse of the payment company Wirecard was the biggest fraud scandal in Germany and a report this year blamed Scholz for the failure of the German regulator.
He was embroiled in the Come-X stock dividend scandal when he was mayor of Hamburg when he lost millions of euros.
However, nothing in the election affected him much. Commentators commented that these scandals were so complex that voters could not notice them.
Frustration on the left
In the line of the SPD, Olaf Scholes Is seen as conservative. The party is co-led by Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borgens, who are also left-wing.
Image source, EPA
In fact, he promised voters continuity after 16 years of the Conservative Merkel regime.
The SPD has been a junior partner in Merkel’s Christian Democratic Alliance (CDU) for the past eight years, and many party members have complained that the policies agreed upon by the “grand coalition” are too conservative.
Now, Scholz has to come to terms with his two allies, the younger politicians and whose forces together received more votes than the SPD, so the new president should make concessions to his fellow travelers and make an effort to do so. Contractor.
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