German Chancellor Olaf Scholz may be about to lose any chance at an immediate political future as even his party turns its back on him.
After firing Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the FDP and collapsing his coalition, Scholz tried to maintain a minority government but was obliged to call a confidence vote for December, with ‘snap’ elections to follow in February.
Now, Scholz’s own SPD party wants him out of leadership before the next vote.
Reuters reported:
“Olaf Scholz, Germany’s least popular chancellor on record, is facing growing calls within his Social Democrats (SPD) to step aside and let his Defense Minister Boris Pistorius instead lead the center-left party into next year’s federal election.”
Scholz wants to try second term with his SPD in third place in the polls, behind the opposition conservatives CDU and the right wingers from AfD. With around 16%, the party is down 10 points since the 2021 election.
“’Scholz has made good policies over the past three years, but he has not managed to win people over and communicate leadership’, two state lawmakers in Hamburg, where Scholz was mayor from 2011-2018, said in a post on Instagram.”
Many in his party feel that ‘the negative image that people in the country have of him can no longer be repaired’.
“Like other regional lawmakers, they threw their support behind Pistorius, 64, who consistently ranks as Germany’s most popular politician – an unusual feat for a defense minister in a country that has an awkward relationship with its military.”
In a survey with a list of the top 20 German politicians, Scholz managed to come second-to-last in popularity.
“In a survey of SPD supporters by pollster Forsa, some 58% said they backed Pistorius as chancellor candidate compared with just 30% for Scholz. Asked if he would run, Pistorius has repeatedly said the SPD already has a candidate in Scholz.”
Scholz is criticized for a lack of leadership, never-ending compromises, and poor communication skills.
“Pistorius, by contrast, is a ‘decisive politician who communicated clearly and could bring people together’, the SPD mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter, told Reuters.”
In the meantime, Scholz decided to play some grown-up diplomacy and talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the German version of the call, the Chancellor condemned the war in Ukraine in the first such conversation in two years.
Associated Press reported:
“Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Scholz condemned ‘Russia’s war of aggression’ against Ukraine during the call, and called on Putin to end it by withdrawing troops that invaded the country in February 2022.
‘The chancellor urged Russia to be willing to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace and stressed Germany’s unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression for as long as necessary’, Hebestreit said in a statement.”
Scholz reportedly condemned Russian air raids on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and warned against the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia.
“The German government statement did not say how long the call with Putin lasted, but German news agency DPA said it was about one hour. The Russian government did not immediately have any comment about the call.”
The Kremlin confirmed that a phone call was held between Putin and Scholz, initiated by the German side.
Sputnik reported:
“During the conversation, the two leaders had a detailed and candid exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine, the Kremlin reported.
Putin stressed that the current crisis was a direct result of years of aggressive NATO policies.
The Russian president also stated that Russia has never refused peace talks and remains open to resuming negotiations, which were ended by the Kiev regime.”
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