Olaf Scholz's government may not survive until Christmas. Opposition already has a candidate for chancellor

The leaders of the German Greens resign. This is a shock for the entire political scene, because this party co-creates the government of Olaf Scholz. On September 23, one of its co-leaders stated that he had lost faith in the possibility of cooperation within the coalition. Now he explains that the regional elections in eastern Germany were the last straw.

“The election result in Brandenburg is evidence of the deepest crisis of our party in a decade. This crisis must be overcome. It is not about the fate of just one party. It is about the fundamental question of whether it will be possible to continue good politics in Germany, the country that bears the greatest responsibility in Europe for peace, freedom, justice, prosperity and climate protection,” said Omid Nouripour, co-leader of the Greens.

The government coalition is creaking at the seams. Earlier, Scholz's other coalition partner, Finance Minister Christian Lindner, did not rule out leaving the government. His Free Democratic Party also achieved a disastrous election result. The liberals blame the policies pursued by Olaf Scholz and the lack of cohesion within the government.

Christian Lindner has announced an “autumn of decisions,” which means the coalition may not survive until Christmas. The opposition already has its candidate for chancellor. It's Friedrich Merz, head of the Christian Democratic bloc CDU/CSU, which is clearly leading in the polls.

– Thanks to pressure from the opposition benches, we have achieved several things in terms of migration policy. Without us and without our clear position, the German government would not have made several decisions – comments Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU.

READ ALSO: Germany's neighbors question decision on border controls. “They make no sense,” “an outdated method”

The opposition is aided by the bad news coming from the German economy. The IFO index, which shows the mood among German entrepreneurs, fell for the fourth month in a row. The authors of the survey speak of the specter of recession.

– I wouldn't say we're dealing with a classic recession, a sudden economic collapse. It's more of a slow downward trend, which tells us that the current situation is not a short-term problem, but a structural, long-term one – says Clemens Fuest, president of the IFO Institute for Economic Research.

The gloomy mood is illustrated by the problems of the Volkswagen group, which is considering closing, for the first time in its history, some of its factories in Germany. The talks between union members and management are taking place in a very tense atmosphere.

– I want answers. Here, today. The board left us without information for weeks and months. We are furious. If I could, I would kick the entire board's ass. I am really pissed off – comments Franz Onken, an employee at the Volkswagen plant in Hanover.

Germany is also living with the turmoil surrounding Commerzbank. The second largest bank in Germany may be taken over by the Italian Unicredit. Chancellor Olaf Scholz opposes this, even though it was his government that sold a block of shares in the bank in early September to repair the budget. However, he did not foresee that the shares would end up in the hands of one big player. Now he is talking about an attempted hostile takeover.

– In Europe and in Germany there is no place for hostile methods of aggressive takeover of shares in companies without any cooperation, without consultation, without agreement – says German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

According to Bloomberg, the government in Berlin knew about the Italian group's intentions. Scholz's unilateral decision to reintroduce border controls also has disastrous consequences for Germany. According to Allianz Trade's calculations, the cost of reintroducing controls is 11.5 billion euros per year.