Election campaign kicks off in Germany
After Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost his majority in the German Bundestag with the collapse of the coalition government, early elections have been called for 23 February. The rise of the right-wing populist AfD and economic policy are the main themes in election campaign. The media take a critical look at the parties' economic agendas and reform proposals: will they be able to convince voters?
Only shock therapy can help
In Bernardinai, Teodoras Žukas, director of the Institute of European Right, says that Germany suffers from a lack of flexibility:
“The state apparatus at the national and state level, the automotive industry, the influential regional state banks and the major banks - they all want to continue moving forward on the same tried and tested tracks. Tracks that led Germany to the peak of prosperity a few decades ago but which have now become unstable. The influence exerted by Germany's largest industries on the country's political system can hardly be described as lobbying - it can be better described as a comprehensive interdependence. As in the case of Russian gas, the impression remains that Germany will need another shock to make it finally abandon these harmful norms.”
Business prospects will decide who wins
Economic policy will be the crucial factor in the election, Gazeta Wyborcza is convinced:
“Two months from now someone else will be answering the phone in the Chancellery. Who? German voters will be persuaded by the politician whose ideas can successfully boost the German economy, save jobs in industry and raise the country to the same level of innovation that exists in the world's other most powerful economies.”
More of the same instead of real growth
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is disheartened by the economic agendas of the various parties:
“The Social Democrats and Greens are promising tax cuts in return for investments in Germany, as if companies were just waiting for a political Black Friday with hefty discounts to implement all their cancelled projects. ... The Christian Democrats' concept is better in that they want to reduce the tax burden as a whole, although it remains unclear how this would be financed. ... Cuts to the welfare state are unlikely with either a black-red or a black-green coalition. But however painful it may be, they are necessary to create more leeway for investments in the budget ... Instead of real growth, Germany can expect more of the same after the election.”
Avoiding conflict is not the solution
Der Tagesspiegel sees the democratic parties in a dilemma:
“On the one hand, voters have clearly had enough of the mutual recriminations and know-it-all attitudes. On the other hand, the CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens and FDP must each make clear what sets them apart from the rest. ... The early elections mean that Germany is facing one of the shortest and most intense election campaigns in its history - and according to the polls the AfD may be on the verge of achieving its greatest victory. ... The democratic parties don't have much time left to set the agenda. If they don't, the AfD and Musk will know how to fill the gap. And then the election campaign won't just be fierce, it will be horrible.”