After weeks of negotiations, the three parties that will make up the next government presented a road map for their partnership on Wednesday, a coalition agreement worked out in excruciating detail in the tradition of Germanys postwar, consensus-driven politics. John Macdougall/Agence France-Presse Getty Images. Still, many credit her long and popular tenure with the fact that Mr. Scholz and his team felt compelled to endorse gender parity. Rather than pomp and circumstance, the modern German transition of power involves a slew of documents, parliamentary procedure and plenty of commuting. And Armin Laschet, who was earlier expected to inherit the chancellorship from Angela Merkel but lost out to Mr. Scholz, expressed his admiration for the process over Twitter. But she was more forthcoming when recently asked about the song, which tells of a couple going on vacation on the island of Hiddensee in the Baltic Sea. Biden supports Sweden's NATO bid, hosting prime minister at the White House For over a decade, Ms. Merkel was not just chancellor of Germany but effectively the leader of Europe. For the first time in 16 years, Germany will now have a center-left government led by a new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who finds himself in the difficult spot of trying to live up to the high expectations set by Ms. Merkel. She is an absolute feminist. As Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves office after 16 years, to travel the country she leaves behind is to see it profoundly transformed. G7 leader profiles | The Japan Times She was shy when I first photographed her, and a bit awkward, Ms. Koelbl, 82, recalled in a recent telephone interview. Cabinet of Germany - Wikipedia The pressure is huge, said Jana Puglierin of the European Council on Foreign Relations. By entering into government with two parties that lean more to the left than his own, Mr. Lindner has shown a willingness to compromise. For Trudeau, 51, this will be his second time attending a G7 leaders meeting in Japan. On China, the picture is more complicated. Soaring energy prices in Germany have been driving up inflation, which hit 4.5 percent in October its highest point in 28 years. Poland's Prime Minister Says His Country Was Right About Russia - The It is the end of an era for Germany and for Europe. He became Federal Chair of the Alliance 90/The Greens in 2018. In 1998, she posed with her hands in a diamond shape for the first time something that would become a trademark gesture. Though Germany has had a few ministers with overseas heritage before, their backgrounds were not typical of most postwar migration to the country: Katarina Barley, a former justice minister, had a British father; Philipp Rsler, who held several senior positions a decade ago, was born in Vietnam and adopted by a family in Germany at the age of 9 months. For a lot of people in this country it means: If he can do it, I can do it, too.. When Olaf Scholz is sworn in as chancellor in early December, he will have to deal with a surging pandemic, tensions on the Polish-Belarusian border, a Russian president mobilizing troops near Ukraine, a more confrontational China and a less dependable United States. List of chancellors of Germany - Wikipedia Do I want to travel the world? Ms. Merkel said. Who is Olaf Scholz? Meet Germany's new chancellor and coalition - NPR Instead, there is a fuzzy promise to spend, in the long run, 3 percent on diplomacy, international development and defense. In a television interview this week, Mr. zdemir quoted a letter of support he had received from a fellow German with Turkish roots, in which its author told him: You are now where none of us have been before., Katrin Bennhold and Christopher F. Schuetze. And while the Greens campaigned on clear rules for cannabis use and the Free Democrats have argued legalization could bring money into state coffers, the outgoing conservative government insists legalization is dangerous. In an interview before his first official visit to Washington, Germany's defense minister staked out a broad geopolitical vision, taking pains to indicate . An assembly line for electric cars in Sindelfingen, Germany, in September. Odd Andersen/Agence France-Presse Getty Images. Location . Annalena Baerbock, the new foreign minister, has been vocal about her plan to take a tougher line toward strategic rivals like China and Russia. Among Angela Merkels three farewell songs: A hit from a punk idol. And last week the incoming and departing chancellors jointly presided over a coronavirus emergency meeting with the governors of Germanys 16 states. But if you embrace it with joy, it is perhaps one of the most beautiful duties there are to be responsible for this country., Mr. Scholz in turn said to her: It was a big period during which you were chancellor of this country, and you did big things. Mr. Scholz sought to strike a conciliatory note on Wednesday, stressing that fiscal prudence would not stand in the way of green investments. In addition to the Chancellor, the Federal Cabinet also includes the ministers. The coalition agreement goes into detail. Corona is still not defeated, Mr. Scholz said. Olaf Scholzs incoming government has drawn much attention to its aims to bring Germany into the 21st century by expanding its digital infrastructure, digitizing the Civil Service and easing the crush of bureaucracy in regulatory processes. Ms. Merkel invited Mr. Scholz to accompany her to a Group of 20 meeting in Rome in October to introduce him to leaders like President Biden. The document presented on Wednesday still needs to be approved by each of the parties leadership or members. (Other European countries like the Netherlands have decriminalized the drug, but producing, buying and selling remains legal only in medical contexts.). Since 1991, Ms. Koelbl has visited Ms. Merkel almost every year to take two portraits for a project, Traces of Power, that aimed to understand how politics changes peoples appearance and character. The law was introduced by Ms. Merkel to allow the government to respond quickly to new waves of infection without having to get authorization from Parliament or states. After announcing tough restrictions for unvaccinated people and an intention to make vaccinations mandatory, the incoming chancellor, Olaf Scholz, took the popular step this week of tapping Karl Lauterbach, a Harvard-trained public health expert and medical doctor, to run the health ministry. He also spent months analyzing why the Democrats lost that vote and reading a raft of books by authors from working-class backgrounds in the United States, France and Germany. President Joe Biden meets with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the Oval Office of the White House, on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, in Washington. Scholz Succeeds Merkel as Chancellor: Germany's Merkel Hands Over The Prime Minister spoke to the leaders of the United States, Germany, France and Italy this afternoon. But his reputation as a fiscal hawk worries some. For Mr. Lindner and all of Germany that power will likely allow him to follow through on pledges not to raise taxes and to restrain spending. June 28, 2023 Updated 2:48 a.m. He also plans to make a billion euros available for bonus payments to workers in hospitals and nursing homes. Leader Approval Trend Tracker Peyton Shelburne Germany will remain a defender of solid finances, Mr. Lindner said. Considering how unusual it is, the current coalition agreement was worked out with relative speed, even though it will have taken nearly 11 weeks by the time the government is likely to be sworn in. A sovereign Europe is the key to our foreign policy, Mr. Scholz told reporters. Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, is taking over the reins from Angela Merkel who has served as Germanys leader for the last 16 years. There are notoriously few female business leaders in Germany. Olaf Scholz speaking at an election rally in Leipzig, Germany, in September. They acknowledged their differences but said they had found enough common ground to push forward with plans to beat back the pandemic, increase the minimum wage and put Germany on a path to quit coal and expand renewable energy to 80 percent by 2030. Truss became prime minister following a vote by Conservative Party members in which she bested her rival Rishi Sunak. Photo series The Federal Chancellor's week. The choice was said to have caused some anxiety for the marching band, which is more accustomed to playing military marches. To her right sat a former president of the Parliament and longtime conservative colleague, Norbert Lammert, who swore her into office in 2005. That will mean a huge restructuring of Germanys powerful automobile industry, which is lagging behind competitors in China and the United States in the innovation and technology necessary for such a change. Her departure has been a long time coming she announced that she wouldnt run for re-election three years ago. I believe in governing in the midst of life and as sensibly as possible, and to do so until the last day of my responsibility.. 20.6.2023. But with so many fires burning on the international stage and some structural geopolitical shifts underway, circumstances and his two more hawkish coalition partners might force Mr. Scholzs hand. Some saw her accepting a guest lecturer role at an American university, while others hoped she would take on a senior role at the European Union or another international institution. For industry, it is better to have a wide array of options. With Germany taking over the presidency of the Group of 7 in January, Mr. Scholz will immediately have the spotlight on him on a host of pressing international questions. Paper in hand, Mr. Scholz and the ministers in his new government they, too will each be handed certificates to make their appointments official will be able to set off on their task of trying to modernize a country that has remained deeply wedded to paper, despite being Europes leading economy and a global industrial powerhouse. US and Germany to send M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine - CNN Nature and Environment 06/30/2023 June 30, 2023 . Were fortunate. The EU restarted legal procedures against London over infringements of the protocol following the announced plan to do away with it. Mr. zdemir, 55, was born in Germany to Turkish parents four years after the first Turkish guest workers arrived. June 24, 2023 Readout of President Joe Biden's Call with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom. Change has also been slow in the Bundestag, Germanys Parliament. BERLIN Romania's Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday to further boost NATO's eastern flank by sending over German troops to his country "soon" and "permanently.". Perhaps the most immediate task facing Germanys new leaders: tackling a fourth wave of the coronavirus. Markus Blume, the party secretary of the CSU, the Bavaria-only sister party to Ms. Merkels C.D.U., called the idea a dangerous experiment and warned that cannabis acted as a gateway drug. Centre Speaking to reporters at the announcement of the agreement on Wednesday, Mr. Lindner said the new government would ensure financial stability, even as it invests in future green technology, digitization and education. He was an idealist in his youth, then became a technocrat and even a hyper-technocrat, Kevin Khnert, a prominent figure in the Social Democrats left wing, said of the incoming chancellor. This will be a constant restraint on the coalition, Holger Schmieding an economist with Berenberg said of a Free Democrat-run finance ministry. There, she thanked her staff before handing over the day-to-day affairs to Mr. Scholz. I would like in this next phase of life to consider very carefully what do I want to do, she said in September. FDP (1) Due to a temporary, isolated tracking error, March 10-15, 2023, approval data for Petr Fiala, the prime minister of the Czech Republic, is unavailable. She then took a seat in the visitors gallery. Video Ad Feedback . New government in Germany: Federal Chancellor and Federal Ministers Few analysts expect Mr. Scholz to change course significantly from his predecessor, Angela Merkel, who took him along to the Group of 20 meeting last month and introduced him to a number of world leaders, including President Biden. The two leaders also discussed the Northern Ireland Protocol, an issue that proved to be a thorn in the side of Truss's predecessor Boris Johnson as well as his predecessor before him, Theresa May and has caused heightened tensions between the EU and the post-Brexit UK. For the first time in 16 years, Germany will be run by a man. Putin tells Merkel, of course, we will continue to keep in touch as friends.. Then, as secretary-general of his party under the last center-left administration of Chancellor Gerhard Schrder, he defended painful labor market reforms with a machine-like efficiency that earned him the nickname Scholz-o-mat.. But Ms. Koelbl insists that the leaders appearance has kept changing over the years. He will immediately face a pressing roster of crises, including a pandemic that is spiraling quickly upward and border conflicts in Belarus and Ukraine. From: Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP. Mr. Scholz is expected to meet the countrys state governors on Thursday, and he has not excluded the possibility of further restrictions. July 5, 2023 2:31 pm CET 5 minutes read BRUSSELS The European People's Party will focus on winning back traditional territory in continental powerhouses like Italy and France, said Andrej Plenkovi, Croatia's prime minister. 8 December 2021 German federal elections 2021 EPA Olaf Scholz said goodbye to his predecessor at the chancellery, thanking her for her commitment to the role Olaf Scholz has been been sworn in as. Call it solidarity of loving ones neighbor. For the photographer Herlinde Koelbl, the end of Angela Merkels tenure as Germanys chancellor isnt just the end of a political era its also the end of one of the longest-running art projects in world politics. On China, said Janka Oertel, the same research institutes Asia director, talk of the country as a strategic partner is definitely gone, with much more emphasis on Beijing as a systemic rival and economic competitor. Mr. Habeck will run a new superministry combining the economy and climate, the person said, and Ms. Baerbock, who ran as the Greens candidate for chancellor, will be Germanys first female foreign minister. The chancellors were officially installed by the president; in some cases the chancellor did not have a majority in parliament. Yet Mr. Scholz will not enjoy a grace period. The prime minister commented that Germany and Britain were bound by an "unshakeable friendship" and "shared views" on many political issues. Fashion just wasnt important to her, Ms. Koelbl said. It is their first test, said Holger Schmieding, chief economist of Berenberg Bank, and they havent even taken office., Katrin Bennhold and Christopher F. Schuetze. But although Angela Merkel is handing over the chancellery to a male successor, the incoming cabinet will have more women than ever before. Cutting bureaucratic red tape, holding off on new taxes, easing immigration restrictions to attract skilled workers those are among the goals proposed by the new government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz that businesses in Germany have applauded. Under Mr. Scholz, electric cars are to flood German freeways, with an aim of having 15 million battery-powered vehicles and the charging infrastructure they require by 2030. For Mr. Lindner, 42, who will now oversee a budget of almost 500 billion euros, about $560 billion, and a staff of 2,000, the position is the realization of an ambition that started in 2013 when he took over the leadership of the party after it had crashed out of Parliament. Romania demands Germany 'permanently' send over troops He will also have to maintain European cohesion in the continuing wake of Britains departure from the European Union, and contend with Washington, an ally that has grown less dependable in recent years. I am a little proud of our democracy the way its managed this transition, said Christoph Heusgen, who served as Ms. Merkels chief foreign policy adviser without schadenfreude, without hatred, without malice.. policy. As Germanys Parliament approved Olaf Scholz as chancellor on Wednesday, many Germans expressed pride in having a transfer of power that was so peaceful as to almost be businesslike. That tension is likely to remain a theme of the government and to test Mr. Scholzs ability to balance competing agendas. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, right, with military honors for a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 12, 2022. Preparing a pipe for Nord Stream 2 in the Baltic Sea onboard a pipe-laying ship in 2019. Do I want to wander around? President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia suggested. Ukraine: Zelenskyy warns of 'provocations' at nuclear plant. Cem zdemir is the first federal minister with migrant roots its almost absurd to say that 60 years after we signed the guest worker program, Professor Foroutan said, referring to the initiative that brought many Turkish people to Germany to help drive its postwar economic revival, including Mr. zdemirs parents. We are setting the course for a social-ecological market economy and ushering in a decade of investment in the future, the lawmakers stated in a 177-page agreement laying out their plans. Yet some people have expressed concern about how the government will pay for the economic changes, worrying that the burden could fall on businesses. Ill try to read something, then my eyes will fall shut because Im tired, then Ill sleep a little bit, and then well see, she said. The debate has shifted: German industry has advanced considerably on this issue so we have new allies who are also willing to invest more.. July 4 2023 news on Russia's war in Ukraine - CNN My country and the United Nations are indivisibly linked. In recent weeks, the incoming government had sent decidedly mixed signals allowing emergency powers for the pandemic to expire, ruling out another lockdown and playing down the latest wave before the spike in cases forced an inglorious retreat to tougher measures. A lifelong Social Democrat, Mr. Scholz, 63, has been a familiar face in German politics for more than two decades and served in two governments led by Ms. Merkels Christian Democratic Party, most recently as her finance minister. When Mr. Scholzs party collapsed in the 2017 election, he wrote an unsparing paper concluding that it had lost their core voters in part because it had failed to offer them recognition.. The fumbling raised immediate worries over how Germany and Europe would fare without the sure-handedness of the countrys longtime chancellor, Angela Merkel. It has also proposed reserving 2 percent of land for wind farms and amping up the amount of energy produced by turbines off the countrys northern coast. There was no Twitter and no iPhone. Ambitious environmental policy costs money, said Cem zdemir, a prominent Green lawmaker. Germanys new government wants to legalize marijuana. Speech by Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany A participant holding a giant fake joint during the Hemp Parade in Berlin, Germany, in 2019. Rarely has a German leader come into office with so many burning crises. The Prsidium (the Prussian king), which now had also the title Emperor, named the chancellor. It is a very special moment, Naika Foroutan, an immigration expert and professor at the Humboldt University in Berlin, said of the appointment of Cem zdemir as agriculture minister. However, the Bundestag is free to disregard the President's proposal (which has, as of 2023, never happened), in which case the parliament may within 14 days hold further ballots and try to elect another individual, which the parties in the Bundestag can now propose themselves, to the post with the same so called Chancellor-majority, whom the Pr. Adolf Hitler's Machtergreifung (seizure of power) marked the end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of Nazi Germany. Although no longer in office, she was seen writing in a notebook balanced on her knees as the voting to approve Mr. Scholz as chancellor began. The fact that she didnt proclaim it publicly has to do with the fact that she probably would have lost her power.. Biden hosts Swedish prime minister at White House in show of - KCTV He was then sworn in on Wednesday afternoon as Germanys ninth postwar chancellor. Every energy option that we have increases our freedom.. Cem zdemir of the Green Party in Berlin. . From temperament and political style all the way down to facial expression Scholz now channels Merkel. Olaf Scholz becomes Germany's new chancellor, replacing Angela - CNN German Defense Minister Vows Stronger Geopolitical Role Ahead of U.S Mr. Scholzs center-left party, which narrowly won the September election, governed with Ms. Merkels conservative Christian Democrats for three of her four terms. @ArminLaschet @OlafScholz pic.twitter.com/7XyuuODaxg. There is the father taking paid parental leave in Catholic Bavaria. After receiving his certificate of appointment from Germanys president, Olaf Scholz was sworn in as chancellor, taking over for Angela Merkel who led the country for 16 years. Allowing the national state of emergency to lapse on Nov. 25, risked sending completely the wrong signal, said Nina Warken, a conservative politician. President Joe Biden is hosting Sweden's prime minister at the White . The partys co-leaders, Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, secured two powerful posts.