Status: 03/27/2023 11:32 p.m
Exhausted from the night’s coalition committee, Chancellor Scholz had to go to the Netherlands on Monday. On the flight he was again allowed to explain the interim status of the talks. Host Rutte allowed himself a dig.
They come to the government aircraft together by helicopter directly from the Chancellery. The German-Dutch intergovernmental consultations in Rotterdam have been on the agenda of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and many of his ministers for a long time.
Good mood in front of the cameras
Cancellation is not an option, that would look like a major traffic light crisis. The chancellor marches ahead on the tarmac with his briefcase in the direction of the stairs. FDP Ministers Volker Wissing and Marco Buschmann follow, flanked by their Green colleagues Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock.
They smile at each other, it looks like they are in a good mood in front of the cameras. There is also no sign of fatigue after the night of negotiation. It is said that everyone showered again. In any case, it was not possible to continue the negotiations in the helicopter because of the ear protection. On the contrary: ten minutes longer and some eyes would have closed, it is rumored.
Pistorius is in a good mood
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has been on the plane for a long time. He was not present at the coalition committee that night and has enough to do with his defense department anyway. “You’re the only one who got enough sleep,” a journalist greets him. “The joke isn’t new either, I’ve heard it for the third time,” Pistorius smiles.
There are probably other reasons for his good mood: During the course of the day, the Ministry of Defense announced that 18 modern “Leopard 2” tanks had reached Ukraine. The helicopter crew had hardly taken their seats when a frosty sleet set in on the runway, as if they had brought an ice age back from the Chancellery.
But that’s not the reason why the plane can’t take off on time. First Finance Minister Christian Lindner is 20 minutes late, then suddenly the front stairs won’t go away. Everything hooks somehow on this day.
A short statement in a tight schedule
Scholz knows how great the public interest is in hearing how the joint government night was. He doesn’t want to wait a long time and allow even more speculation about the condition of his traffic lights to grow. A short statement is spontaneously accommodated in the tight schedule. Immediately after landing, the convoy stops briefly at a small arrivals terminal. It has to be improvised quickly.
The problem: In the room, the background of the chancellor’s corner provided for filming does not fit – a toilet door, a magnificent plastic model of a luxury yacht or a framed poster of a glider pilot are in the way. Since time is of the essence, the government spokesman quickly lends a hand and the glider pilot is left behind. What the chancellor then has to say offers a similar amount of content as the exposed white wall.
Not enough for matches
Scholz speaks of “a great deal of progress” and “many, many agreements” for Germany’s modernization. However, he immediately admits that there are obviously not enough agreements: They are only a good basis for continuing the coalition talks the next morning.
A little later, the journalists who had traveled with them tried again. The large travel group has meanwhile arrived at the new Rotterdam art storage facility, on their “really nice break”, as Scholz called the German-Dutch government consultations at the airport. A dog with a pitying look looks down from a painting at the joint press conference with Scholz’s Dutch counterpart Rutte.
Rutte gives tips on how to enjoy wine
While the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte begins to describe the friendship between the neighbors with gestures, Scholz seems a bit tired for the first time in the spotlight. He reads his prescribed jokes (the German-Dutch friendship is always great as long as no football is being played). Unlike Rutte, Scholz’s hands only move to turn the pages.
Only when the questions are asked does the Chancellor seem more alert again. “No, I couldn’t sleep and, as you can see, I’m fine,” Scholz replied when asked again about the coalition talks. He is looking forward to the “nice evening” in Rotterdam. “But not that much wine,” Rutte spontaneously gives tips in German from the side, but Scholz doesn’t go into it.
He tries to explain once again that the coalition committee wants to make “very clear, concrete definitions” in order to achieve the “Germany speed” he has proclaimed not only in the construction of the LNG terminals, but also in other areas.
The plane is still a long time coming
In addition, such a long night session is also a shared experience when you are close together. “You talk about that for a long time,” says Scholz. Rutte starts again with a smile: “In the Netherlands we have an occupational health and safety authority.”
She should have intervened at dinner at the latest: the German delegation is sitting at the long table at half past seven, visibly stricken, opposite their Dutch ministerial colleagues. The top floor of the art depot offers a great panorama of the Rotterdam skyline.
The tables are decorated with big colorful flowers, the white wine glasses are well filled. But somehow the traffic light coalition seem as if they would prefer a bed. The plane back to Berlin only starts more than two hours later.