The chancellor Olaf Scholz promised on Wednesday a “new beginning” for Germany, leading a center-left coalition government, ending the 16-year-old era of Angela Merkel.
The conservative leader, who for only nine days, will not have broken the longevity record in the power of Helmut Kohl, welcomed his successor to the Chancellery and asked him to “work for the good of Germany.”
Scholz paid tribute to him for “everything he had done” for the country and promised a “new beginning.”
The 63-year-old Social Democrat received 395 votes in favor of the 736 Bundestag deputies, who were elected in the September 26 elections.
Scholf took the oath, together with his government and before the deputies, reading article 56 of the Basic Law, in which he promises “devote their forces to the good of the peopleleman “.
His election as the ninth chancellor of Germany after the war was not in doubt since his social democratic party SPD won the legislative elections with 206 seats against 197 of the conservative Christian Democratic Union until now in power.
Scholz is supported by the Greens (118 seats) and the FDP Liberals (92), who form the new ruling coalition.
With a reputation for sobriety, the new chancellor was smiling as he received congratulations, bouquets of flowers and posed for photos.
His 86-year-old father said his son, a kind of “know-it-all” as a child, predicted at 12 that he would become chancellor.
– Joint government –
A convinced feminist, Scholz will take the reins of a government composed for the first time in Germany by equal numbers of men and women.
Three of them will lead key ministries: the ecologist Annalena Baerbock in Foreign Affairs and the Social Democrats Christine Lambrecht and Nancy Faeser in Defense and Interior respectively.
Also for the first time since the 1950s there will be three parties in the German cabinet.
Despite electoral programs sometimes in the antipodes, the SPD, the Greens and the FDP managed to quickly agree on a program that focuses on climate protection, budgetary rigor and Europe.
Christian Lindner, a leader of the Liberals and a supporter of budget austerity, will take over the important Finance portfolio.
The newly launched coalition will have to face the worst health crisis since the appearance of covid-19, with hospitals under heavy pressure.
The wave of infections led the government to impose tough restrictions on the unvaccinated, who cannot enter restaurants, cultural venues and, in some regions like Berlin, shops.
Scholz will have the “great responsibility” to fight the pandemic, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Wednesday.
“Let’s not let the pandemic divide us,” insisted the president, in a context of mobilization, especially from the extreme right, against health restrictions.
The strategy of the new executive goes through the obligatory nature of the vaccine, desired by Scholz and that could be applied from February or March.
The Social Democratic leader, former mayor of Hamburg, will entrust the Health portfolio to Karl Lauterbach, a doctor by training and supporter of restrictive measures.
– A loaded foreign agenda –
After the election of Scholz, the president of the European Commission, Ursuya von der Leyen hoped to work with him “for a strong Europe”, while Russia hoped to maintain with the new leader “a constructive relationship”, at a time when tensions they are strong between the EU and Moscow.
“There is no other alternative than dialogue to resolve the most serious differences”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said.
From Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping indicated that his country is willing “to consolidate and deepen political mutual trust, to increase exchanges and cooperation in different fields with Germany.
Scholz has not yet commented on the “diplomatic boycott” announced by the United States against the Winter Olympics in Beijing, but the new head of diplomacy does not rule out following in Washington’s footsteps.
Annalena Baerbock promised to adopt a firmer tone than the previous government towards Russia, whose accumulation of troops on the border with Ukraine increases fear of possible aggression.
Following tradition, the new German chancellor will inaugurate his foreign agenda with a trip to Paris on Friday, followed by a visit to Brussels, to meet with the bloc’s leaders and prepare for the European summit next week.
Mexico congratulates the new foreign minister
The Government of Mexico congratulated on Wednesday the new Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, wished him “success” in his management and expressed his “commitment” to continue working with the European country.
“The Government of Mexico, through the Ministry of Foreign Relations, congratulates the new Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, and wishes the German Government success in his management,” the Mexican Foreign Ministry expressed in networks.
“Mexico reiterates its commitment to continue working for the benefit of our peoples and our close bilateral relationship,” he added.
The Social Democrat Olaf Scholz was elected Federal Chancellor by the German Parliament (Bundestag) on Wednesday, where his party and his future government allies, the Greens and the Liberal Party (FDP) have the majority. Scholz succeeds conservative Angela Merkel, who will hand over power after 16 years to the former vice chancellor and finance minister of her last grand coalition.
Merkel, who has repeatedly announced that she will not occupy any new political office and did not opt for a seat as a deputy in the generals, was received by a long standing ovation by the parliamentarians.
In June 2017, Merkel had a fleeting 24-hour visit to Mexico, where she met with then-President Enrique Peña Nieto, with whom she vindicated free trade and the defense of the environment in light of the theses that Donald Trump launched from the United States.
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