Status: December 8th, 2021 12:58 p.m.
The change of government in Germany is also being closely followed internationally. While congratulations for the new chancellor came from Brussels, France and China, Hungary’s Prime Minister Orban kept his distance.
Politicians at home and abroad have congratulated the new Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz on his election. “Congratulations, dear Olaf Scholz, on your election and appointment as Federal Chancellor,” wrote EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Twitter. “I wish you a good start and look forward to further trusting cooperation for a strong Europe.” She was looking forward to a meeting in Brussels soon. The former Federal Defense Minister knows Scholz from the Berlin cabinet, which she left in 2019 for the top post in Brussels.
The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, also congratulated Scholz. “We wish you and your government every success and the best of luck in mastering the great tasks that are pending in Germany and Europe.” The European Parliament is looking forward to the cooperation. EU Council President Charles Michel declared that he wanted to work with Scholz “for a strong and sovereign Europe”. Michel also thanked ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) for “many years of trusting cooperation”.
Congratulations from France and China
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter: “We will write the next chapter together. For the French, for the Germans, for the Europeans. See you on Friday.” Scholz is expected to have lunch in the Elysée on Friday for his first visit abroad as Chancellor.
China’s head of state and party Xi Jinping and head of government Li Keqiang also congratulated Scholz. According to the state television, China’s president spoke out in favor of expanding cooperation and exchanges between the two countries in order to raise relations “to a new level”. Xi Jinping described China and Germany as “comprehensive strategic partners”. The president was quoted as saying that both had treated each other with mutual respect over the years and sought common ground, while differences had been postponed.
China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang described the relationship between Germany and China as “the most important bilateral relationship in the world”, according to state television. He looks forward to “establishing and maintaining good working contacts with you.”
Orban: “No longer side by side”
The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, on the other hand, distanced himself from the new federal government in a guest article for “Bild”. “The new left-liberal government is striving away from Kohl’s Europe of the Fatherlands towards a migration- and gender-friendly, German-influenced, centralized policy from Brussels. Here we are no longer standing side by side,” he wrote. “Our unity already broke with the 2015 migration crisis.”
Russia, in turn, is hoping for a dialogue with the new government. “We are counting on the development of constructive relations between the president and the new chancellor,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Interfax agency. The spokesman for President Vladimir Putin also emphasized: “We hope that the German side will continue to understand that there is no alternative to dialogue to resolve even the most difficult differences of opinion.”
“Will do it very, very well”
In Germany, the political opponents also received their first congratulations for Scholz. “Congratulations and success in office”, the outgoing Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) wished the new Chancellor. He also wished the outgoing Chancellor Merkel all the best. “It was huge and unforgettable,” said the CDU politician. The Left Party congratulated the new Chancellor, but pointed out to the new Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) that in the new government “everything is now subject to Lindner’s reservation”.
Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder expressed confidence that his party colleague Scholz will master his new role as Federal Chancellor of a coalition with the FDP and the Greens. “Olaf Scholz will do it very, very well,” said Schröder in an interview with the television broadcaster “Welt”. “I have a lot of confidence in him and that’s why I’m in good spirits.” It is “more difficult to lead a constellation of three parties that are set up very differently,” said Schröder. But the experience that Scholz brought with him from his time as First Mayor of Hamburg would help him with that.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst offered the new Federal Chancellor a “constructive cooperation”. “As chairman of the Prime Minister’s Conference, I am counting on continuing the partnership between the federal and state governments, particularly on issues that affect our entire society and require cross-border solutions,” said Wüst. The corona pandemic in particular requires “responsible politics, a clear course and consistent, joint action by the federal and state governments”.
Economy: Government has to start immediately
Central associations of the German economy see the new Chancellor and his government directly confronted with major challenges, primarily because of the pandemic. “In the Corona crisis, the new government has to get started immediately,” said the chief executive of the Federation of German Industries, Joachim Lang. “It is high time that the federal and state governments now want to break the fourth wave with an ambitious package of measures.”
Employer President Rainer Dulger said: “The tasks that lie ahead of us are great. We are relying on a long-term reform agenda for the decade of structural change ahead. Digitization, decarbonization and demographic change require answers and a big hit.” Handicrafts president Hans Peter Wollseifer said that the new chancellor was starting at a time that “did not allow any grace period or even postponement”, but demanded decisive government action immediately.
At the election of Olaf Scholz: Congratulations from Brussels and EU member states
Astrid Corall, ARD Brussels, December 8th, 2021 1:24 p.m.