As of: January 31, 2024, 9:10 p.m
By: Mike Schier
Comments
Press
Split
The middle of society unites on the streets against the AfD.
The centrist parties, on the other hand, argue like tinkers.
Munich/Berlin – After 45 minutes of debate, the moment has been reached where things get really personal.
Olaf Scholz worked himself into a rage in a very unhanseatic way.
That's right.
And now he's taking on Friedrich Merz directly.
“If you are ever criticized, then you are a mimosa,” shouts the Chancellor.
“I think: If you box, you shouldn’t have a glass chin.”
Budget week in the Bundestag.
Discussion on the Chancellor's budget.
This is always the moment when it's no longer about the money (which this time would actually have provided enough material for the argument), but about the bigger picture.
And it actually becomes very basic.
Merz terminates all cooperation with the government, the Chancellor speaks of “cowardice”.
Tip against Scholz: Merz praises Macron's great speech and criticizes the work of the traffic light
But one after anonther.
At the beginning there was a somewhat somber mood in the air, after all we had just commemorated the victims of National Socialism together - so Friedrich Merz, as the first speaker, found it difficult to move on to current politics.
He prefers to recall the “really great speech” that Emmanuel Macron gave a week earlier in the mourning hour for Wolfgang Schäuble.
The French President advocated taking the lead in Europe together again.
“Germany should take this outstretched hand now.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the lectern during the general debate in the Bundestag.
© Ann-Marie Utz/dpa
That sounds pretty state-supporting, but it's the first mean thing of the day - because everyone in the room knows that the relationship between Macron and Scholz isn't all that close.
In addition, Merz continues to feel his way forward, Germany must lead from a position of strength.
Which brings him to domestic policy: “The weak growth has predominantly structural reasons.” Labor costs are too high, bureaucracy is overwhelming, energy is too focused on wind and sun, the tax burden on companies is too high.
Dispute over citizens' money and broken agreements: Merz terminates cooperation
The gap between social benefits and wages is not big enough, says Merz.
“The citizen's benefit system is the exact opposite of what we need now to promote motivation again.” Then it goes directly against the SPD: “You have become a party of subsidized unemployment and no longer a party of employees .”
It is the third attack on the government in just a few days.
Merz recently attacked the Chancellor harshly in the debate about agricultural diesel.
On Tuesday, he accused the traffic light of having “manipulated” the right to vote and “inflicted serious damage on our country’s democracy.”
On Wednesday, Merz's appearance culminated in the announcement that he no longer wanted to work with the government.
The German Migration Pact has already been terminated, and agreements have been broken in the Bundeswehr's special assets.
My news
On roads and rail: Bundeswehr announces huge military convoys through Germany
CIA chief slams Putin: Has “shamed Russia and exposed weaknesses” read
Explosive report from the USA: Americans are struggling with German Leopard 2 tanks
New survey shock for Ampel: Wagenknecht party is mixing everything up read
“Lost interest in the topic”: Aiwanger is criticized after outrage over left-wing extremism
Risk “very high”: Austria warns of attack from Russiaread
“Working through what was left behind”: Scholz criticizes the CDU government
There is great discontent at the traffic lights.
Merz's speech is accompanied by heckling.
MPs are also venting on social networks - especially because of allegations of election manipulation.
“That’s how the AfD would argue,” complains Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP) calls Merz a “dangerous demagogue”.
This man should not be held responsible.
So it wouldn't take the appearance of AfD woman Alice Weidel ("This government hates Germany") to raise the temperature of the debate.
Scholz already has enough to work on.
For his part, he accuses Merz of having canceled the migration pact.
“I have never seen so much cowardice before one’s own courage.” And anyway: the CDU has governed poorly for years.
“We are in the process of working through everything that has been left behind in this country.
For many, many years, the decisive steps were not taken so that Germany could have an industrial future.”
Scholz prefers not to mention that he was a minister for a long time during these years and later even vice-chancellor.
(Mike Schier)