The political earthquake in Berlin may be an opportunity for the Polish government

Next to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on the one hand, representatives of the Greens, and on the other, the head of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), Christian Lindner – this is a scene from the times when the coalition partners were still united. Today, Lindner is no longer in the government, Scholz dismissed him as finance minister.

– I feel compelled to take this step to prevent harm to our country. We need a government that is able to act, that has the strength to make the decisions necessary for our country, said the German Chancellor.

Lindner's resignation de facto means the collapse of the ruling coalition. The smallest element of the puzzle falls out – the FDP, leaving the social democrats from the SPD and the Greens.

On Wednesday, there was a dispute within the coalition at the chancellor's office in Berlin. Scholz allegedly stated that Lindner was torpedoing the work of his government and was guided only by party egoism.

Lindner replies that he could not agree to Scholz's demands, who wanted Germany to take out a new debt – a minimum of EUR 15 billion, mainly to fill the budget hole, with a small part also to help Ukraine. – The Chancellor gave me an ultimatum to suspend the constitutional debt brake. I couldn't do that because I would be breaking the oath I took when I took office. That is why, at the coalition committee meeting, the Chancellor ended cooperation with me and the FDP – provided by Christian Lindner.

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The entire FDP decided to leave the coalition and withdraw its four ministers from the government. Olaf Scholz announces that as part of a limited coalition, he will want to continue implementing the government's program until Christmas, and in the new year, he will want to hold a vote of confidence in the Bundestag. If Scholz does not obtain it, the German president will have to call new elections. – Many people are worried about the uncertain political situation in our country, in Europe and around the world, including after the elections in the United States. This is not the time for tactical tricks, but for common sense and responsibility. I expect everyone to behave appropriately to the scale of the challenges we face – said Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

If the elections were held today, the Christian Democrats from the CDU/CSU bloc would definitely win, and their leader Friedrich Merz would become chancellor. For now, in order for the current government to survive, Olaf Scholz asks Merz for support. However, their meeting on Thursday did not bring any results.

The opposition and its former coalition partner, the FDP, are pushing for early elections, demanding that the confidence vote be held as soon as possible. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place in Germany only in September next year. The lack of a stable government in Berlin for such a long time may mean a greater role for Poland on the European arena, because on January 1, our country takes over the EU presidency.

READ ALSO: Sikorski about the situation in Germany. He talks about the Weimar Triangle and “more urgent” consultations

– Germany is a key player in the European Union. When this player is weakened, it can also affect the entire structure of the Union. Perhaps there will be an increase in the importance of Eastern European countries – says prof. Stefan Marschall, political analyst from Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf.

The political earthquake in Berlin raises additional concerns in Kiev. However, while the election results overseas will almost certainly mean less American support for Ukraine, the main parties in Germany are in favor of continuing to support the country fighting Russian aggression.