General debate in the Bundestag: Scholz on the back burner

What a passionate performance it was by the chancellor back in September in the Bundestag. Today, on the other hand, the well-known Olaf Scholz spoke again: a lot of small things, a lot of retrospect. Missed the chance.

Psychologists often recommend not comparing yourself too much to others. The statements are not so clear on whether one should compare oneself with oneself from time to time. After this general debate in the Bundestag, Olaf Scholz could definitely be suggested to try it once: the comparison with himself. With “Scholz on fire”, namely the astonishingly passionate Federal Chancellor, who stood at the podium at the beginning of September – and gave a speech that After numerous rather dry appearances, few had believed him capable of it.

In short: This time it was the old Olaf Scholz again. Not on fire. Rather on the back burner. Someone who throws a lot into the pot and sometimes seems stuck in the small-small. Who then stirs the same ingredients over and over again. Taste again. And yet somehow remains bland.

During his speech in September, Scholz often looked directly at his political opponent, opposition leader Friedrich Merz, and made biting comments. This time, a small moment at the beginning of the speech showed that another Scholz was speaking: “When I was just listening to you, I had to think of Alice in Wonderland,” he said. “What is big in truth, talk small and vice versa.” Scholz reads these sentences from the printed manuscript. It almost seems as if even this reaction, which is supposed to convey spontaneity, dialogue and the battle of arguments, has been planned for a long time. As if there were no room for a real exchange of blows.

Another comparison between Scholz and Scholz: the chancellor spoke of a “turning point” in his government statement in February, shortly after the start of the war. Now this upheaval at Scholz sounds much smaller: An “orderly change of path” is, for example, the political consequence that is drawn in defense policy. That’s why it takes a long time until the Bundeswehr is reorganized and sensible investments are found for the 100 billion special fund, according to the Chancellor’s argument.

Overall, Scholz looked back a lot. In this speech, the past tense and past tense dominated. There was little present and future tense. A trip to China, a ticket to Germany, coal-fired power plants, child benefit – he ticked off a lot of what the coalition wants to put in the shop window as successes of the past few months. This speech would have been an opportunity at the beginning of winter to look ahead to the coming months. And to give answers to the many question marks that many people have when they receive letters from their energy suppliers.

In two weeks the traffic light will be one year old. Of course it was a crazy ride. Laws in a hurry and always new challenges. A little tiredness before the Advent season would not be surprising. And yet the first birthday would be a good moment for new momentum – because a pat on the back alone will not get the coalition through the winter.