Angela Merkel’s 16-reign as German Chancellor officially came to an end today as parliament elected her successor – Olaf Scholz.
Lawmakers voted 395-303 to approve Scholz – Merkel’s former finance minister – as the country’s new leader, three months after his left-of-centre SPD party won the most seats in the election.
Merkel, who is no longer a member of parliament, watched from the spectator’s gallery and was given a standing ovation as proceedings got underway. Scholz was also applauded after the vote as he was given a bouquet of flowers and a basket of apples as a welcome gift.
Scholz then took the oath of office in front of lawmakers, ahead of Merkel handing over control of the German chancellery this afternoon.
The 63-year-old will run the country as head of a so-called ‘traffic light’ coalition by combining his red SPD party with the liberal yellow FDP and the environmentalist Greens.
Laying out its plans for power in a coalition deal published last month, the government has already signalled its support for liberal policies such encouraging immigration, firming up the rights of asylum seekers, making the path to citizenship easier, legalising cannabis, and lowering the voting age to 16.
The coalition is also expected to take a firm pro-EU stance which is likely to hurt relations with post-Brexit Britain, and Scholz has come out in favour of a Covid vaccine mandate to tackle rising infections.
‘We are venturing a new departure, one that takes up the major challenges of this decade and well beyond that,’ Scholz said. If the parties succeed, he added, ‘that is a mandate to be reelected together at the next election.’ (DailyMail)