Merkel trashes Trump as ’emotional,’ saying reelection is ‘disappointment’– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
Merkel offers a laundry list of complaints about Trump in her new memoir, Freedom: Memories 1954-2021, which is set to be released on Nov. 26.
“[Trump] judged everything from the perspective of the property entrepreneur he had been before politics,” Merkel writes. “Each property could only be allocated once. If he didn’t get it, someone else did. That was also how he looked at the world.”
In this Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend ceremonies at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. On the international stage, Merkel insisted on seeking compromises and pursuing a multilateral approach to the world’s problems through years of turbulence that saw the United States drift apart from European allies under Trump. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool, File)
She continues, “For him, all countries were in competition with each other, in which the success of one was the failure of the other; he did not believe that the prosperity of all could be increased through co-operation.”
Germany’s Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, may have seen the polls that show Union (the former center-right coalition led by now-retired Angela Merkel) is far ahead of the left coalition led by the Social Democrats under Olaf Scholz. The Minister has removed his name from consideration, leaving Sholtz to face the defeat as the coalition’s banner holder.
Germany’s Defence Minister Bows Out, Paving Scholz’s Path for Re-election – devdiscourse.com Source Link Excerpt:
Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has effectively cleared the runway for Chancellor Olaf Scholz to seek re-election by removing himself as a potential candidate for the nation’s top position.
Pistorius took to video Thursday night to affirm his support for Scholz, saying that he is not in the running for chancellor candidacy. This development has dispelled speculation that Pistorius might challenge Scholz, who has the backing of the Social Democrats’ leadership.
The move comes amidst the backdrop of public disputes that have marred the Social Democrats’ standing, with polls showing them lagging behind the opposition Union. Meanwhile, rival parties have already nominated Friedrich Merz and Robert Habeck to lead their respective campaigns.
The expected German elections in February 2025 could see the party of Angela Merkel, the so-called centre-right coalition called the “Union” come back to power if early polls are right.
Germany election 2025 tracker: who’s ahead in the polls? – economist.com Source Link Excerpt:
The political home of Angela Merkel, chancellor for 16 years until 2021, Germany’s principal centre-right force is an alliance of the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU. Often referred to as the “Union”, the CDU/CSU is miles ahead in the polls. Its joint candidate, Friedrich Merz, became the head of the CDU in his third bid for the job in 2022. After a long career in politics Mr Merz left in 2009 for a stint as a corporate lawyer and an executive at the German arm of BlackRock, an asset manager, before making a surprise return in 2018. Mr Merz would govern to Mrs Merkel’s right on migration and other issues, and take a much more hawkish line on Russia than Mr Scholz. He is more popular than his SPD rival, but struggles to appeal to women and younger voters.
Germany’s current PM Olaf Scholz is effectively a man without a government after his coalition government collapsed in the face of increasing outrage from Germans unsatisfied with what seems like an intentional sabotage of their country in the interests of globalists, not German citizens.
The collapse came less than 24 hours after President Trump won re-election. Scholz fired finance minister and leader of the Free Democratic Party after economic talks collapsed. Calls for a vote of confidence against Schultz, in addition to calls for Shultz to resign, have only increased even after a date was set for new election on February 23.
Germany facing snap election as Olaf Scholz loses grip on power – thetimes.com Source Link Excerpt:
Olaf Scholz has rejected a demand to trigger the end of his chancellorship this week but said he was open to holding a confidence vote before Christmas, setting the stage for a snap election early next year.
Germany’s leader is under pressure from all sides to bring a swift resolution to the country’s political crisis as Europe struggles to muster a coherent response to the imminent presidency of Donald Trump.
Scholz’s three-party “traffic-light” coalition fell to pieces less than 24 hours after the US election last week when he fired the finance minister and leader of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) after talks over the economy broke down.
As a result, the coalition between his Social Democrats party (SDP), the Greens and the neo-liberal FDP no longer holds a majority.
Scholz’s hope had initially been to buy time by announcing a vote of confidence in the Bundestag — the established mechanism for removing a sitting chancellor — on January 15.
Germany Sets Election Date for February 23rd Following Coalition Collapse – eutoday.net Source Link Excerpt:
11
Germany will head to the polls on February 23rd. The announcement comes after the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the opposition reached an agreement on Tuesday, less than a week after the ruling coalition administration disintegrated, throwing the government into a state of uncertainty.
With the coalition’s collapse, Germany now faces a period of rapid political realignment as parties prepare for a potentially transformative election.
The Collapse of the Coalition Government
The sudden disbanding of the coalition government marks a significant political rupture in German politics. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had led a coalition formed by his own Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), faced challenges that proved insurmountable.
The coalition, in place since 2021, had struggled with internal divisions and disagreements over policies on energy, social welfare, and defence spending, all of which worsened as global issues impacted the country’s economy and stability.
Disputes on climate policies, inflationary pressures, and military funding created deep fissures within the coalition, with each party unwilling to compromise on core issues that reflected their values and electoral promises.
Olaf Scholz could face pre-Christmas confidence vote after collapse of his coalition – theconversation.com Source Link Excerpt:
Germany could be heading into an election even sooner than expected after chancellor Olaf Scholz indicated that he may be willing to make concessions to bring forward a confidence vote already scheduled for January 15.
The vote, which is presumed to become a trigger for an election, was called for the new year after Scholz’s coalition government collapsed. But he has now indicated that he may concede to pressure from other parties to hold the confidence vote before Christmas. In a TV interview on November 10, he said: “If everyone sees it that way, it’s not a problem”.
When Scholz, as expected, loses the confidence vote, parliament would almost certainly be dissolved within 21 days and elections held within a further 60 days. If the original timetable held, the expectation is Germany would vote in late March. If the vote takes place before Christmas, the election will take place even sooner, possibly mid-February.
Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian democratic (CDU/CSU) opposition, is leading the charge for an earlier vote. The CDU/CSU is comfortably ahead in the polls and has promised to enable key legislation to pass in exchange for an immediate vote. Scholz has so far resisted and seems keen to have time to gear up for the election campaign. But he may be heading towards compromise.
.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=e9ce4dffbbfea30d206a7a8549705454f194d51cff16f3b0cdbfbb706f759802&ipo=images)
