Scholz remains German Chancellor despite farewell ceremony
Acting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz remains in office despite the fact that his official farewell ceremony has already taken place. His government ministers also continue to work, Spiegel reports .
As the publication notes, due to the failure of the vote for Friedrich Merz , who was supposed to become the new chancellor, Article 69 of the country's Basic Law is in effect. It provides that the federal chancellor continues to perform his duties "until his successor is appointed."
Federal government ministers will also remain in their positions as acting ministers.
It is not yet known when the second round of voting for the new chancellor will take place. The second round was originally scheduled to take place later on Tuesday, May 6.
However, according to Spiegel, a more likely date is Wednesday, May 7.
According to the acting head of the Left Party parliamentary group, Serena Pehlmann, Merz has lost popularity due to breaking campaign promises.
"He received a historically unprecedented slap in the face for his agreement with the AfD (the far-right Alternative for Germany party. – Ed.) on refugees and for breaking his election promises," said Pehlmann.
He added that such behavior is "no longer acceptable to some members of his own coalition."
This is the second political crisis in Germany in recent times. Six months ago, the government coalition of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party, known as the "traffic light", collapsed. After that, early elections to the Bundestag were held in Germany.
- On May 5, German conservatives and Social Democrats officially signed a coalition agreement .
- On the same evening, a farewell ceremony for Olaf Scholz as Chancellor of Germany took place in Berlin.
- On May 6, Friedrich Merz was not elected as the new Chancellor of Germany , he did not receive enough votes in the first round of voting.
