Germany’s Olaf Scholz pushes for stronger EU, issues warning to Russia

Germany’s incoming government, led by the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), were pressed to clarify their foreign policy priorities at a press conference on Tuesday.

Having officially signed a three-party coalition agreement, chancellor-designate Olaf Scholz and the rest of his Cabinet members are expected to take office on Wednesday after a vote and swearing-in ceremony in the German parliament.

Scholz put Europe in focus as he fielded questions on Russia, China and the United States alongside Greens co-leader and incoming vice-chancellor Robert Habeck as well as Free Democrat (FDP) chief and incoming finance minister Christian Lindner.

On Europe

Strengthening the European Union on the global stage — and making sure Germany is part of that process — was of the utmost priority, Scholz said.

For his first trip outside of Germany as chancellor, Scholz said he would honor recent tradition and travel to Paris, France — followed by a trip to Brussels for meetings with EU heads. Angela Merkel, Gerhard Schröder, Helmut Kohl and Helmut Schmidt all made a point of visiting France first after becoming chancellor. Franco-German reconciliation and friendship in the aftermath of the two world wars has become a core pillar of German foreign and European policy.

“German foreign policy is a policy of continuity,” Scholz said, in a nod to his predecessor Angela Merkel’s push to strengthen the 27-member bloc.

The incoming chancellor also pledged German support for Poland concerning the crisis the border with Belarus — criticizing Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko for using migrants to put pressure on the EU.

Also on the subject of Poland, incoming vice-chancellor Robert Habeck said rule of law was essential for all members of the EU — taking aim at Poland and Hungary. The Green Party co-chief added that Germany would back the European Commission, which is in disputes with the governments in Warsaw and Budapest.

On Ukraine-Russia border tensions

With regards to the latest movements of Russian troops on the border to Ukraine, Scholz said that it must be made “very clear” to Russia that further threats to Ukraine would be unacceptable.

He voiced concern about the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border, saying that the principles of de-escalation that have prevailed in the aftermath of the Cold War must be adhered to.

“These include the inviolability of borders. It is very, very important that no one digs around in the history books in an effort to redraw the borders,” he said. “Therefore, it must be very, very clear that it would be an unacceptable situation if a threat to Ukraine would emerge.”

On transatlantic ties

After the EU, the new German government’s second foreign policy priority will be strengthening transatlantic ties and cooperation with NATO.

A future call with US President Joe Biden is likely in the cards once Scholz officially takes office.

“It is now clear what binds us together,” Scholz said, referencing democratic values.

On China

Scholz was notably less direct when asked to clarify his policy towards China, instead saying that working with the EU and the US would be the most immediate priorities.

He also avoided answering questions on whether Germany would join the US in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Over the weekend, incoming foreign minister and Green Party co-chair Annalena Baerbock sparked concern from China after she suggested taking a harder course on Beijing to address human rights concerns.

rs/msh (dpa, Reuters, AFP)

• Meet Germany’s government

  Chancellor Olaf Scholz — Angela Merkel’s successor

  Germany’s next chancellor has been its current finance minister: Olaf Scholz will become the Federal Republic’s ninth chancellor and the fourth Social Democrat to hold the office. The former mayor of Hamburg handed his center-left party a surprise win in September’s election, though he was initially unpopular among the party’s rank-and-file.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP)

  Media-savvy Christian Lindner has been leader of Free Democratic Party (FDP) since 2013, inheriting a party that had just lost representation in parliament in the election. The 42-year-old’s reward for leading the neoliberal resurrection is the second most powerful office in the land — raising eyebrows among some who pointed out that his party actually finished behind the Greens in the election.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Economy and Climate Protection Minister and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens)

  The Greens have expanded the influential Economy Ministry to include its signature issue, climate protection, while also enhancing the power of 52 year-old Green Party co-leader Robert Habeck. A member of the more moderate “realist” wing of the party, Habeck the author of childrens’ books was already Environment and Agriculture Minister in his home state of Schleswig-Holstein.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Green Party)

  Angela Baerbock, the party’s 40-year-old chancellor candidate, is set to be the new Foreign Minister, and has already ruffled feathers by taking a tougher tone on China. Baerbock is only the second Green politician to take on the post, after Joschka Fischer in the late 1990s.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD)

  Possibly the biggest surprise in Scholz’s new Cabinet, Faeser has been elevated from SPD party leader in Hesse to one of Germany’s biggest ministries, her first role at federal level. Some observers hope her appointment signal an intention to get tougher on far-right extremism. She is the first woman to hold the office.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD)

  A popular choice for Germans who have enjoyed his outspoken appearances on TV talk shows, Lauterbach has been the face of the SPD’s tough health policy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. His reward is a tricky post in which he will likely oversee the introduction of mandatory vaccines.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP)

  The 44-year-old Buschmann was first elected to the Bundestag in 2009 and remained an influential politician in the party throughout the FDP’s lean years from 2013 to 2017. His signature issue in parliament was protecting individual freedoms, though he has now come out in favor of mandatory vaccines.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD)

  Angela Merkel’s last justice minister has now been put in charge of Germany’s armed forces and one of the biggest budgets at the Cabinet table. Some political observers had the 56-year old pegged for the Interior Ministry role, and her experience with military affairs is seen as limited.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Food and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens)

  The veteran Green Party politician will finally join the federal government after over a quarter-century in the German parliament. The first-ever German Cabinet minister with Turkish parents is a party moderate and outspoken critic of Turkish President Erdogan. He co-chaired the Green Party for close to a decade.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens)

  The ministry with the longest name has gone to the much-respected Steffi Lemke, among the handful who co-founded the Greens’ East German branch in 1989. During her first spell in the Bundestag (1994-2002), she was also one of the few Green Party parliamentarians to initially oppose German participation in the Afghan war.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Transport and Digital Infrastructure Minister Volker Wissing (FDP)

  FDP General Secretary Volker Wissing is the party’s second most powerful politician after leader Christian Lindner. He is also no stranger to a coalition with the SPD and the Greens, having spent five years as Rhineland-Palatinate’s Economy Minister.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Construction and Housing Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD)

  One of only two East Germans in the new Cabinet, Klara Geywitz has been tapped to head a new ministry set up at the insistence of the SPD. Housing has become an acute issue in Germany, where urban areas are fast running out of affordable housing. Geywitz was Scholz’s co-candidate in their failed bid for the SPD leadership in 2019.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Labor and Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD)

  43-year-old Heil will keep the post that he held during Angela Merkel’s last government, indicating that his party his pleased with his work. Among his key issues has been trying to increase pay for care home workers, which Germany is desperately short of. He will also oversee the increase in Germany’s minimum wage to €12 ($13.60) an hour.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD)

  Angela Merkel’s last environment minister is to become Scholz’s first development minister. The 53-year-old Schulze is an outspoken opponent of nuclear power and a member of several environmental organizations.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Education and Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP)

  Head of the Hesse FDP, 53-year-old Stark-Watzinger was part of the party’s negotiating team in coalition negotiations and a specialist in finance and education policy. She has called for an “educational revolution” in Germany, ushering a major digitalized overhaul of the current system. She also lived in the UK for nine years.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Family, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth Minister Anne Spiegel (Greens)

  The 41-year-old Anne Spiegel has already had a meteoric career at state level. Having held the Family Ministry in Rhineland-Palatinate since 2016, she became the state’s new Climate Protection minister in May after leading the Greens’ election campaign in this year’s state election. She has now been promoted even higher.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Chief of Staff and Minister for Special Affairs Wolfgang Schmidt (SPD)

  Scholz’s right-hand man in the Cabinet will be Wolfgang Schmidt, who worked with the chancellor when Scholz was mayor of Hamburg. Chief of staff with a special ministerial brief that gives the chancellorship extra weight in the Cabinet, Schmidt’s role will largely involve coordinating the ministerial work of the three parties.

• Meet Germany’s government

  Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media Claudia Roth (Greens)

  Claudia Roth is moving into the spotlight of German cultural policy. Within the Chancellor’s office, the 66-year-old will also be responsible for DW. Former party leader Roth is one of the most prominent faces of the Green Party. Most recently, the former manager of the anarchist band Ton Steine Scherben was Vice President of the Bundestag.

  Author: Ben Knight, Lisa Hänel

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