Chancellor Scholz has acknowledged mistakes made by his traffic light government and accepted responsibility for them. In an interview with “Zeit” he also managed to criticize himself.
The traffic light government has repeatedly aired its differences publicly – the result is a lot of dissatisfaction and disastrous poll numbers. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has now acknowledged errors in his coalition’s work and accepted responsibility for them. “As Chancellor, I bear responsibility for the government. Period,” he said in an interview with “Zeit”.
The SPD politician avoided blaming the coalition partners of the Greens and the FDP for disputes in the government. “It would be absurd to say that I had nothing to do with it,” he said of the criticism of the government.
Dispensable arguments
Unfortunately, it was rarely possible to make important traffic light decisions without lengthy public disputes, said Scholz. “We have to accept that, and I could have easily done without it,” said the Chancellor. When asked if this was a form of self-criticism, he added: “Yes.”
During its more than two-year term in office, the coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP argued publicly several times – for example over the heating law or basic child welfare. The three parties are currently recording their worst poll numbers since taking office.
Scholz also explained the differences between the SPD, Greens and FDP on factual issues by saying that the government should have tackled a variety of issues. Now the central issues have been largely negotiated in the coalition, on which there were different “political-ideological perspectives”. Despite all the criticism, the traffic light policy is correct, for example when it comes to cutting subsidies or promoting large technology projects. Scholz admitted that he still didn’t need some of the “disturbing noise” within the government.
Scholz expresses hope
However, Scholz was confident that there will be an improvement: “The fact that after the ruling from Karlsruhe we have now managed to draw up a proper budget that meets our current challenges gives me hope. Together with the resolutions on citizens’ money, migration and “With the expansion of wind power and solar energy, this can be a good basis for the government to regain trust.”
Scholz said he perceived the mood in the country as “restless”. “You can feel the economic and political upheaval in the country that the Russian attack on Ukraine has caused. At the same time, you can feel uncertainty because we, as an economically strong country, are currently in the process of setting the course so that it will be the same here in 20 and 30 years There are still good jobs and we remain at the forefront of technology.”
The coalition is not taking the easy route, but is taking on conflicts in view of the great challenges, said Scholz. In the past 10 or 15 years, far too much has been left undone because governments have avoided conflict.
“AfD must above all be fought politically”
Regarding the AfD’s growing strength, the Chancellor said: “The genie is out of the bottle.” Pushing back this will be “difficult when it comes to those who have right-wing views.” The others have to be convinced “by making policies that lead our country on the right path and address the problems” – for example with migration.
Regarding the debate about a possible ban on the party, Scholz said that the relevant authorities, especially the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, were dealing with this question. However, it was an important decision by the Federal Constitutional Court to exclude the NPD from party financing. “Regardless of this, I am convinced that the AfD must, above all, be fought politically.”