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German leader set to ask for Dec. 16 confidence vote, paving way for election as early as February

AP News — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 22:28:31 +0000

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to ask for a vote of confidence in his government on Dec. 16, paving the way for a new parliamentary election as early as February, German media reported Tuesday.

The expected vote in the Bundestag would come well ahead of original plans, marking a step to reach compromise between Scholz’s party, the Social Democrats, and the main opposition party in parliament, the center-right Christian conservatives.

The move comes after the collapse of Scholz’s three-party coalition last week, at a time when the leaders of Europe’s biggest economy have been grappling with ways to revive Germany’s anemic economic growth.

Experts predict the economy will shrink or at best stagnate this year, due to external shocks and homegrown problems including red tape and a shortage of skilled labor.

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Source: https://apnews.com/article/germany-election-scholz-confidence-vote-69dc9138f438f1f51db222e7ee3428cf

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Angela Merkel approval rating at all-time LOW amid migration row and VIOLENT riots

Matt Drake — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 08:41:50 +0000

ANGELA Merkel’s approval rating has dropped to an all-time low amid the ongoing row over migration policy and a spate of violent far-right protests in Chemnitz.

Support for Germany’s grand coalition between Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc and the Social Democrats has fallen to an all-time low, Bild am Sonntag reports.

The ruling Christian Democrats and their Bavarian counterparts, the Christian Social Union, had their approval rating fall one percentage points to 29 percent while support for the Social Democrats dropped by two percentage points to 17 percent – a poll in the German paper reveals.

Both parties’ combined 46 percent marks a record low for the coalition.

But Merkel has suffered a series of political setbacks over migration and protests.

Riots in Chemnitz, Eastern Germany, began after a man was stabbed to death, allegedly by two immigrants.

The poll is based on opinions of 2,472 German voters between August 30 and September 5.

They found support for the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party remained unchanged at 15 percent.

Far-left party Die Linke saw a boost of 1 percentage point, polling at 10 percent.

Both parties’combined 46 percent marks a record low for the coalition (Image: GETTY)

Merkel has suffered a series of political setbacks over migration and protests (Image: GETTY)

Germany’s interior minister put pressure on Angela Merkel by describing the migrant crisis as the “mother of all political problems”.

In a shock warning, he said voters risked turning towards far-right parties if the government was not seen to be tackling the issue.

The hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has repeatedly railed against Mrs Merkel’s open-door immigration policy introduced in 2015.

Mr Seehofer said: “The migration issue is the mother of all political problems in this country. I have been saying this for three years.

The riots in Chemnitz, Eastern Germany, began after a man was stabbed to death (Image: GETTY)

“This is confirmed by many surveys – many people now associate their social concerns with the migration issue.”

But Angela Merkel shrugged off his outspoken remarks, telling the RTL broadcaster: “I say it differently.

“Migration presents us with challenges and here we have problems but also successes.”

Source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1015154/angela-merkel-germany-migration-riots-chemnitz-afd-christian-democrats

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Bundestag votes in favor of refugee family reunification limit

Myfanwy Graigic — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 07:09:03 +0000

German Chancellor Angela Merkel casts her vote in the family reunification motion | Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images

Vote marks progress on particularly contentious issue in ongoing German coalition talks.

BERLIN — The German Bundestag voted Thursday in favor of a family reunification deal for war refugees that entails accepting 1,000 family members of refugees into the country each month.

The bill passed with 376 votes in favor and 248 against after a heated debate among all parties. It extends a moratorium on family reunification — a policy that went into effect in June 2016 — until July 31, after which point Germany will take in 1,000 family members per month. It also allows for an unspecified number of “hardship” cases to enter the country.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats (SPD) — who are currently in formal talks to form a new “grand coalition” — spoke broadly in support of the bill. Members of the Green party and the left-wing Die Linke, meanwhile, criticized the deal on humanitarian grounds, saying there should be no limit on family reunification.

“We’re talking about families,” said the Green party’s parliamentary group leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt. “We’re talking about mothers and their children.”

The Free Democrats, meanwhile, took aim at the deal’s practicality, saying the volatile situation in war-torn countries like Syria meant that setting a fixed number was illogical. “The situation in Syria varies,” said Free Democrat Stefan Ruppert. “The deal makes no sense.”

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) warned of the possibility of a new mass influx of refugees and differing understandings of who is considered a family member. “Would we accept the second wife as well?” the AfD’s Jürgen Braun asked the Bundestag in a debate before Thursday’s vote, adding that “polygamy has no place in Germany.”

CDU politician Stephan Harbarth defended the deal by emphasizing Germany’s generosity during the refugee crisis — when the country accepted more refugees “than the rest of Europe combined” — but warned that “our capacity is finite” and that “uncontrolled immigration damages integration.”

Germany’s policy on refugees emerged as a flashpoint in coalition talks between Merkel’s conservatives and the Social Democrats. The formal talks will conclude this week and the SPD membership will then vote on whether to enter into a coalition.

Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/bundestag-votes-in-favor-of-refugee-family-reunification-limit/

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