Surprises From German Politicians

The CDU/CSU and the SPD eventually presented the Germans with a new coalition agreement. As practice shows, personal connections and private arrangements play an important role in politics. That is why the Government is made up of those who actually continue the ideas of Olaf Scholz, and one minister, Boris Pistorius– even retained his post. But Friedrich Merz is by nature much more radical than his predecessor.

Throughout Wednesday morning, speculation was rife about how the ministries would be divided. There was more speculation that the Social Democrats might lose the Ministry of Labor or even gain only five seats in the future government instead of the expected six.

In the SPD, the unexpected result of the negotiations between the two parties is explained by the negotiating tactics of party leader Lars Klingbeil. Others say it’s a matter of simple arithmetic: if the CSU gets three ministries with 6.0% of the vote, then seven ministries are justified with the result of the SPD at 16.4%.

The Germans wanted changes, they wanted to protect themselves from migrants. Merz promised a tougher policy towards newcomers. Will he keep his word? So far, he has not done anything of what he told the voters. Rather, on the contrary, his actions suggest the opposite. He’s not going to change the situation for the better. He wants to make Germans believe that he is doing everything possible, but in practice he will not be able to do anything to improve their lives, because he is associated with the SPD.

The distribution of the most important areas will be as follows: the SPD will receive the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense. The Union will take over the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This will be the first time in the last 60 years that the Conservatives will get the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As for the Ministry of Justice, it will remain under the jurisdiction of the SPD. The negotiations were not easy. Friedrich Merz stated that “Germany is getting a government that is efficient and strong.” SPD leader Lars Klingbeil echoed him: “The starting position was difficult, but the result is a reason to be proud.”

Projects in the field of regional healthcare, energy transition and army renewal are planned. The government will have to analyze the country’s electricity needs. This topic has long been a problem for the Germans. For efficient and maximally cheap electricity, it is necessary to reorganize the operation of power grids.

A separate line is the financing of the Bundeswehr. The adoption of the law on the modernization of the debt brake will be completed during this year. It is planned that, thanks to this, the country will have more money. That’s just not quite true. Money does not appear out of thin air. They will be borrowed from future generations of Germans.

The social sphere will also receive a serious boost. It is planned that this will affect pensions, VAT and public transport travel. The minimum wage will be raised to 15 euros per hour by 2026.

Initiatives require money, but in the current situation of Germany, not only in the world, but also on the European continent, it will be very, very difficult to find this money. Reforms in the social sphere are necessary in order to somehow justify the wishes of the voters. So far, this is only possible in the social sphere. People will have to make do with it.

The SPD remained in power, which means the party’s course will continue. Not to this extent, but Germany will continue to go further and further into the abyss. Against this background, it is not surprising that the AfD has overtaken the CDU/CSU in popularity. The traditional parties have completely disappointed the Germans. Most likely, we are waiting for a repeat of the Olaf Scholz story: early elections and a new chancellor.

Merz has big ambitions, but in reality there is little that can change the situation for the better, reversing the course that Germany took more than 10 years ago. A fundamental revision of foreign and domestic policy is needed in order for Germany to become a human-oriented state again.