Olaf Scholz is ninth Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. The SPD politician put down on Wednesday take the oath of office in the Bundestag away. Then he met his predecessor in the Chancellery Angela Merkelin order to take over the official business from her.
The Christian Democrat Merkel handed over the house to the Social Democrat Scholz in which the federal government holds its cabinet meetings. “Dear Chancellor, dear Olaf Scholz” – with these words Merkel greeted her successor.
“Take ownership of this house and work with it for the good of our country”said the CDU politician to Scholz. She knows from her own experience that it is a moving moment to be elected to this office.
Before that, she had not been able to personally congratulate Scholz on the election because, although she was present in the Bundestag, she was not allowed to enter the plenary hall due to her lack of a mandate. “I sincerely wish you all the best in your work and always a happy hand for our country,” she said to Scholz at the Chancellery.
This marked the end of Merkel’s chancellorship. “You will find a team here that is full of commitment,” she announced to Scholz. This applies to those “who have to work in the kitchen through to the filing system”.
Humorous announcement of the new chancellor
Scholz himself thanked his predecessor and praised her work. “That was a great time when you were Chancellor of our country”he said to Merkel, under whose leadership he was Federal Minister for several years.
During her tenure in office, Merkel had to deal with many crises, some of which they also got through together. “That welded together,” said Scholz. “There has always been a very trusting cooperation between us.” That shows that Germany is a strong and efficient democracy.
If he took over the Chancellery now, not that much would change, said Scholz with a smile. “I would like to build on the, how should you put it, north-east German mentality that has prevailed there so far. That won’t change that much, ”he promised.
Scholz later added seriously that a change of government in a major, unfinished crisis also requires continuity and community. “And I assume that we will succeed too,” he said.
Oath of office without reference to God
Less than an hour earlier, Scholz had taken his oath of office in the Bundestag. He spoke the oath given by the Basic Law without reference to God “So help me God”.
The oath of office reads: “I swear that I will devote my strength to the well-being of the German people, increase their benefits, prevent damage from them, uphold and defend the Basic Law and the federal laws, conscientiously fulfill my duties and do justice to everyone. ”
Immediately before the oath of office, Scholz took the seat of the Chancellor on the government bench for the first time and received applause from the representatives of the Ampel-Coalition.
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Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had previously visited Scholz in his seat in Bellevue Palace Successor to Angela Merkel appointed and presented him with the relevant certificate. Steinmeier Scholz said his “very best congratulations”.
Clear majority of the Chancellor – but not all of the traffic lights
That morning the Bundestag elected Scholz as Federal Chancellor. He becomes head of the first traffic light coalition at the federal level SPD, Greens and FDP.
Scholz accounted for in a secret vote in the Bundestag 395 of 707 votes cast. There were 303 votes against and 6 abstentions. 369 votes were needed to elect the Social Democrat.
The SPD, Greens and FDP together have 416 seats in parliament, which is 47 seats above the so-called chancellor majority.
Scholz accepted the choice. The first to hand him a bouquet of flowers was SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich, followed by Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus (CDU). The defeated Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet (CDU) also congratulated.
Several cases of illness at the traffic light parties
With 395 votes, Scholz was arithmetically missing 21 votes from the government coalition. However, there were also several cases of illness: the SPD reported four on AFP request, the Greens and the FDP each one.
Since it is a secret election, it is not possible to determine exactly how many MPs from the respective parties did not vote for Scholz. It is also not possible to determine whether and how many MPs from the opposition voted for him.
The designated SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert speculated that the missing votes could have come from the ranks of the two smaller coalition partners. “Because it is naturally a little more difficult for them to elect someone from another party to be Chancellor,” Kühnert told the broadcaster “Phoenix”.
“Some of them had hoped to take over the Chancellery this year,” said Klingbeil, apparently with a view to the Greens.
Long applause for Merkel – just not from the AfD
Scholz is the fourth SPD chancellor after Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and Gerhard Schröder. The CDU has so far provided the four Chancellors Konrad Adenauer, Ludwig Erhard, Kurt Georg Kiesinger and Helmut Kohl, and for the past 16 years Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Merkel sat in the guest gallery of the Bundestag as the executive Chancellor. She received long applause after being welcomed by Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD). The AfD parliamentary group alone paid no respect to the outgoing Chancellor and remained seated.
Of the The Bundestag met at 9 a.m. to elect Chancellor. This is regulated in Article 63 of the Basic Law (GG). Afterwards, the Federal Chancellor is elected by the Bundestag on the proposal of the Federal President without discussion in a secret ballot. For a successful election, the chancellor candidate needs an absolute majority of the votes in the first election phase. One also speaks of the “Chancellor majority”.
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After Steinmeier’s appointment and the oath of office in the Bundestag at noon, Scholz went back to Bellevue Palace as Federal President, the officially appointed all federal ministers. Steinmeier presented the ministers with the certificates of appointment at a ceremony. The new government was officially in office.
Steinmeier urges the government to work for cohesion
In a speech, Steinmeier called for people to stand up for social cohesion. A majority of voters have given the Ampel coalition “a mandate for courageous steps towards change”. Those who go forward courageously must also ensure “that the less strong can keep up, that the people for whom change means loss can also gain new things,” said Steinmeier.
The coalition is also accompanied in the implementation of its projects by the question: “How can great change remain in harmony with democracy and social cohesion?”
Steinmeier also used the appointment of the new members of the government to appeal to people to show solidarity in the pandemic and to be vaccinated against the corona virus. “The reality of the pandemic in autumn 2021 is extremely serious,” emphasized the Federal President. Everyone is asked to fight the virus.
“The measures now discussed – from compulsory vaccination for certain occupational groups to a general compulsory vaccination – are really not part of everyday legislative life,” admitted Steinmeier. “And yes, they increase the pressure on unvaccinated citizens.” Nobody in government and parliament will take the decisions on these measures easily.
“All the more I ask everyone: Especially in this tense situation, good arguments should speak, not contempt, not anger, and certainly not hate,” said Steinmeier. Society should not allow “the pandemic to drive us apart”.
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After the cabinet was appointed, the shuttle service between the Bundestag and Bellevue Palace continued. In parliament, President Bas sworn in all ministers.
Around 3pm found the Handover of office from Angela Merkel to Olaf Scholz instead of. Other handovers of office followed by various ministries.
The new Federal Cabinet wanted to come together on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. for its first and constituent meeting.
Elevation dispute becomes new government spokesman
Steffen Hebestreit will be the new government spokesman. Elevation dispute – already spokesman for Olaf Scholz in the Federal Ministry of Finance – is his designated successor, wrote government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Twitter on Wednesday. He will also take over the Twitter account @RegSsprecher.
“I would like to thank everyone who followed me here for their great interest over the long term!” Wrote Seibert. His account will be archived as @RegSsprecherStS.
The website of the Federal Chancellery was changed on Wednesday before Scholz was sworn in.
Now the web address is no longer called “bundeskanzlerin.de” as it was in Merkel’s time, but “bundeskanzler.de”.
The one in the Bundestag election defeated Union Chancellor candidate Laschet tweeted from the Bundestag during the Chancellor election. He praised the “respect among democrats” and chose a picture that shows him with Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and Scholz.
The SPD had it Bundestag election on September 26th won and after a race to catch up had become the strongest force with 25.7 percent in front of the CDU / CSU (24.1 percent).
Mathematically, a Jamaica alliance of the Union, the Greens and the FDP would have been possible. However, the two smaller parties opted for coalition negotiations with the SPD. Your then negotiated The 177-page coalition agreement has the motto “Dare to make more progress”. (with agencies)