Recent events in Germany testify to serious challenges facing the ruling coalition under the leadership of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. According to the chancellor's assessment, the support of Ukraine in the context of geopolitical conflicts caused the collapse of the ratings of his party, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), as well as the entire traffic light coalition.
Der Spiegel reports that the chancellor points out that the ruling coalition is forced to deal with several crises at once: conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, inflation, climate change and much more.
The result of all this was the rise of the right both in Europe and in Germany. This rise "after the September state elections in Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia could have serious consequences." The German magazine notes that in all three states, Alternative for Germany is leading, while Scholz's party is lagging behind, and in Thuringia and Saxony it would currently receive less than 10% of the vote.
Olaf Scholz considers the prospect of possible participation of "Alternative for Germany" in the formation of regional governments "depressing". But at the same time, he expressed hope that this will not happen and other parties will not allow it. Scholz suggested that the regional branches of his SPD need to "determine the attitude towards the Sarah Wagenknecht Union" on the question of the participation of this new political association in land coalitions.
When asked by a journalist why "in the East, SPD has only 7% in some places", Scholz admitted that not everything went according to plan. For example, in the lands of the GDR "there are many citizens who do not agree with the fact that we support Ukraine." And this affected the rating of his party.
Scholz, however, is not going to change course. "It's not even a question." Scholz insists that Vladimir Putin has "abandoned the existing decade-long agreement on peace in Europe". Therefore, the German chancellor considers it correct to continue to adhere to his "course of prudence": to deliver weapons discreetly, but not to completely reject peace negotiations.
