The helpless
When the German Chancellor arrived on Sunday for the group match of the German national handball team in the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, things became restless. Loud cheering and a flute concert echo through the hall. The atmosphere is clearly noticeable. On the field, in the audience, even on the screens at home.
And with Olaf Scholz?
The Chancellor is not looking forward to it. Appears unimpressed, shows no emotion. Not that anyone expected that. Yet it is striking how stoically Scholz lets the events pass him by. When the German team scores a goal a short time later, he is happy. As if nothing had happened.
Klingbeil: “Everyone must come together”
The chancellor is not a particularly welcome guest these days. He is harassed at sporting events. During a public meeting in the flood area, Scholz had to accept insults.
The Chancellor will not even give a speech at the memorial service for football legend Franz Beckenbauer next Friday. The organizers apparently fear that unrest could arise in the arena. The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reports that this is what they want to avoid with such an act of mourning. Scholz will therefore silently participate in the event. Other politicians such as German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder will speak in the meantime.
For Scholz, all dissatisfaction is nothing new. His government is in something of a permanent slump. It goes from crisis to crisis. People have long become accustomed to brutal criticism. But as bad as now? That has never been the case. The coalition has reached a new low in the polls. The SPD, Greens and FDP together have only 31 percent. This makes all three just as strong as the Union, which also achieved 31 percent.
In addition, people have been taking to the streets nationwide for weeks. It is not just the farmers who are protesting. Also the restaurateurs, shipping companies, craftsmen. They are all dissatisfied. With politics as a whole, but also with the traffic lights.
The coalition views the situation with concern. According to cabinet circles, the situation has never been so serious. SPD boss Klingbeil even speaks of a ‘winter of anger’ and calls on the traffic light, of which he himself is a member, to be more disciplined: “Everyone must come together,” Klingbeil said this weekend on ARD. Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck called for a “restart” of the coalition at the end of last year.
And Olaf Scholz?
Seems to be waiting. How the situation is developing. That things will calm down. That is why we hear more and more frustration from the traffic light parties. In coalition circles it is said that the Chancellor has boxed himself in. Is Scholz really as helpless as he currently seems?
Where is the Chancellor – why it seems Scholz has disappeared
Scholz regularly appears at public events. Just this weekend, he and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock took part in an anti-right-wing protest demonstration in his hometown of Potsdam. The Chancellor gives interviews, sends video messages, speaks in the Bundestag. There is no shortage of quantity. Certainly not if you compare the SPD politician with his predecessor Angela Merkel.
Nevertheless, Scholz is repeatedly accused of disappearing and increasingly withdrawing from the business. This criticism does not only come from the ranks of the opposition. The Greens, the FDP and even parts of the SPD are also annoyed by the Chancellor. Behind closed doors there are even accusations of excessive demands – and the question is whether Scholz can handle the situation.
Ultimately, the criticism probably stems from the fact that the Chancellor speaks often, but has actually said something even less often than usual in recent months. Scholz even swears more than ever. He wallows in meaningless platitudes and shows little to no empathy. And there seems to be no sign of leadership.
Wouldn’t plain text be needed now?
How concerned is Scholz about the situation?
From those close to the Chancellor, we can hear that Scholz is definitely struggling with the discontent in the country. Not so much that people curse at him at handball matches. As mayor of Hamburg he had a completely different experience. And that also applies to watching the polls. After all, he has already left the field from behind in the 2021 federal elections. Rather, the chancellor is concerned that general frustration in the country continues to increase. That something is about to fall? Scholz, in his down-to-earth North German way, probably wouldn’t go that far. But even he realizes that something has to change.
And the plan?
Scholz usually does not share that. The Chancellor’s credo: ultimately, the results speak for themselves. Until then, everyone must trust that they have the situation under control. The problem is that almost no one trusts it anymore.
The coalition now says it wants to wait until the outstanding federal budget for 2024 has been decided. After the Constitutional Court declared the original plans for the traffic light illegal last November, they required weeks of negotiations and huge savings. The austerity measures in particular are seen as the reason for the protests in the country.
Once the adjustment meeting takes place next Thursday and the Federal Council votes in early February – and the budget is adopted, the situation will calm down. And then? We will try to bring about a change in mood with good policies and good results. But is that enough?
To wait? Can be dangerous
A look at the current year should actually provide considerably more engagement. Scholz knows the challenges that lie ahead. In addition, there are elections in Europe. Then in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg. The AfD currently stands at 23 percent in the federal government, ahead of all traffic light parties – and not just recently. In the East German states, the approval ratings for the party, which is partly far-right, are considerably higher. If the Chancellor fails to change the mood, the election results could go in favor of the right-wing populists.
To counter this, Scholz needs to do two things: on the one hand, he needs to get control of the problems people are concerned about. Migration plays a central role, especially in the upcoming elections. Especially since the annual forecast from the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) shows that the number of asylum seekers in Europe is expected to rise again in 2024. The German government must be able to provide answers quickly. Didn’t Scholz actually reach an agreement between the federal and state governments on this? At the end of last year, the Chancellor called the results of the Prime Minister’s meeting “historic”. They wanted to meet again in January. Drive the decisions forward. What became of it?
On the other hand, many people want less arguing and more empathy at the traffic lights. So far the chancellor has only made an unreasonable impression. He doesn’t admit mistakes, doesn’t really ask for understanding – and certainly doesn’t ask for forgiveness.
It is the last chance for the Chancellor to turn things around. Scholz would need a big boost. Also something symbolic. And no, it’s not his classic “You’ll never walk alone”. But who knows, maybe Scholz already knows how to improve the situation – and just doesn’t say so.
What did Franz Beckenbauer always say? ‘Let’s see.’ A football player can say that. But is that enough for a chancellor?
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
