(Berlin) It is a long chapter in contemporary German history which will end on Wednesday: the Bundestag will elect the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz as chancellor and thus turn the page on 16 years of the Merkel era.
The first woman to lead Germany, Angela Merkel will have remained in office 5,860 days, failing within nine days to break the longevity record of her mentor, Helmut Kohl.
At the end of a very codified process, the conservative leader will hand over the reins of the first European economic power on Wednesday to Olaf Scholz, who will have been both a political opponent, but also his vice-chancellor and finance minister.
A little over two months after winning the legislative elections at the end of September, Mr Scholz will be elected by the Bundestag at the head of an unprecedented three-party coalition, formed much faster than expected, by the Social Democrats of the SPD with the Greens and the Liberals.
The transfer of powers with Mme Merkel, who will see the center-left return to the helm of the country for the first time since Gerhard Schröder, will take place in the wake.
For the first time, a parity government will then take office, with women appointed to key ministerial positions such as Foreign Affairs, the Interior or Defense.
” New start ”
Despite a mixed record, marked by sudden changes such as the reception of refugees in 2015 and an ability to manage crises, but also by a lack of ambition in the climate battle and the modernization of the Germany, Mme Merkel remains after four terms one of the favorite personalities of the Germans.
“Angela Merkel has been a successful Chancellor,” said Olaf Scholz, paying tribute to a leader who “has remained true to herself for 16 years marked by many changes”.
Nevertheless, the one who willingly presents himself as Merkel’s heir intends to breathe new life into it.
“I want the 2020s to be those of a new beginning,” Olaf Scholz told Die Zeit, claiming to want to implement “the greatest industrial modernization” in recent history “capable of stopping the climate change created by the man “.
His government is also promising a very pro-EU policy aimed at “increasing the strategic sovereignty of the European Union” and better defending “common European interests”.
The future head of diplomacy, environmentalist Annalena Baerbock, intends at the same time to take a harder line with regard to authoritarian regimes like China and Russia.
But the future government will not experience a state of grace. He must immediately focus on his first big challenge: the management of the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which particularly affects Germany.
Mr. Scholz, elected experienced, but not very charismatic, intends in particular to quickly vote the vaccine obligation, supposed to come into force in February or March.
This radical measure, already chosen by the Austrian neighbor, is supported by around two thirds of Germans, but it risks hurting a large part of the population, in particular in the former GDR.
Meanwhile, M. Scholz, Mme Merkel and the 16 regions have agreed to new restrictions targeting exclusively the unvaccinated, banned from cultural venues, restaurants and other non-essential businesses.
Novice ministers
The former mayor of Hamburg, who like his predecessors will reserve his first visit to France, will also have to deal with an unfavorable economic situation, weighed down by weaker growth than announced and the return of inflation.
Mr. Scholz has a plethora of other projects to carry out, which do not necessarily win the approval of the Germans.
The planned increase in the minimum wage, the anticipated exit from coal or the development of renewable energies are popular, according to a survey for the public channel ARD.
Other promises of the “traffic light” coalition such as over-the-counter cannabis, the purchase of armed drones by the Bundeswehr or the right to vote at 16, on the other hand, are only supported by a minority.
And on the climate, despite the “most ambitious program that a government has ever presented”, the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees seems unattainable at this stage, according to a study carried out for the German Climate Alliance.