In the regional elections in the east ern states of Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg, the dire predictions about Germany’s threats from the far right have become bitter reality. Now the Greens are suffering their worst political meltdown in de cades. The biggest worry at this stage is the worsening economic situation, with Germany’s economy facing stagnation and increasing de-industrialization.
On September 22 after the Brandenburger election, Christian Lindner, FDP leader and finance minister, started threatening his coalition partners and a frustrated public with his announcement that “now we are in the autumn of decisions.” A few days later, the leaders of the Greens, Omid Nouripour and Ricarda Lang, stepped down with the admission: “New faces are needed to lead the party out of this crisis” and that the party is facing “the deepest crisis in a decade.”
And as TIE goes to press, Germany’s traffic-light coalition is history after Scholz sacked his finance minister, Christian Lindner, over disagreements on loosening the debt brake and economic reforms. The exit of the liberal Free Democrats forces Scholz to hold a confidence vote, which he is expected to lose since he lacks a parliamentary majority. The parties have agreed to hold a snap election February 23, seven months ahead of schedule.
Leave a Reply