Germany Election Result 2021: Social Democrat Olaf Scholz will take oath as the new Chancellor of Germany on December 8, 2021, marking an end to the 16-year rule of Angela Merkel, who had been the first female chancellor of Germany.
India has deep relations with Germany and it is expected to continue as per the newly elected tripartite coalition led by Olaf Scholz. German Ambassador to India Walter J Lindner informed that Olaf Scholz has notably visited once before in 2012 when he was the Mayor Hamburg. He had visited New Delhi and Mumbai during his trip.
Olaf Scholz was confirmed to be the next German chancellor after the leaders of three parties sealed a coalition deal. The pact paves way for a three-way coalition government comprising the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and liberal Free Democrats (FDP).
German Coalition Pact
The SPD, Greens and FDP coalition pact brings to an end nearly five weeks of formal negotiations. The 3-way coalition is known as the traffic-light coalition, due to their respective colors of red, green and yellow. The parties worked behind the closed doors to reach to an agreement.
The coalition government will mark an end to 16 years of conservative-led rule. Angela Merkel's conservative party narrowly lost to the Social Democrats in the 2021 German National Elections.
The Social Democrats claimed a clear mandate to lead the government for the first time since 2005, but they have not won the majority. The center-left party won 26 percent of the vote, ahead of 24.5 percent vote won by Merkel's CDU/CSU conservative bloc, as per the projected results revealed on September 26, 2021. Neither bloc won the majority and nor did they show any keenness to form a grand coalition like they did in the past four years.
Angela Merkel remained in a caretaker role till the new government takes office. The change of government in Germany comes at a crucial time when relations between France and the US, Australia are strained over the new AUKUS pact. Germany is yet to respond to the situation.
Olaf Scholz new German Chancellor
Olaf Scholz was till recently serving as Germany's Finance Minister and Merkel's deputy in the grand coalition. Following the German Election Results 2021, he had said that his party would do everything it can to ensure that they form government by Christmas.
The 63-year-old Scholz will become the fourth post-war SPD chancellor after Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and Gerhard Schroeder. Social Democratic Party's Helmut Waldemar Schmidt had served as the Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982 in coalition with the Free Democrats even though his party had won fewer parliamentary seats than the conservative bloc.
Angela Merkel's retirement creates a huge vacuum?The incumbent German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not run in the 2021 German national elections, marking the first time in the history of the Federal Republic that an incumbent did not run. She has decided to retire after serving as German Chancellor for 16 years. Her stepping down has left a huge vacuum in the heart of German politics. Angela Merkel had taken office in 2005, becoming the first female chancellor of Germany. Ever since she took office, she has been described as the de facto leader of the European Union, the most powerful woman and one of the world's most successful political leaders. She has stood large on the European stage since the time when George W. Bush was US president, Tony Blair was UK Prime Minister and Jacques Chirac was the French President. She has dealt with four US Presidents, five UK Prime Ministers, four French Presidents and seven Italian Prime Ministers during her 16-year rule. |
Background
The Social Democratic Party's gain in 2021 German National Elections marks a major comeback for the party after the historic defeat in the 2017 National Elections. The SDP is one of the two major parties of contemporary Germany along with the Angela Merkel-led Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU).
Comments
All Comments (0)
Join the conversation