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German government crisis could lead to new elections

Published 8 November 2024
– By Editorial Staff
In the wake of yesterday's collapse of the German government, Olaf Scholz (SPD) will now have to look for other partners or face an uncertain new election.

Germany is in a government crisis after Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired the country’s Finance Minister Christian Lindner, leader of the liberal FDP party, during an emergency meeting yesterday. The decision means that the German so-called “traffic light coalition” is cracking.

The resignation triggered a swift reaction from the FDP, whose ministers immediately resigned, leaving Scholz with a minority government made up of the Social Democrats and the Greens.

Olaf Scholz, stating that the finance minister lacked the will to work for the good of the people, then accused Lindner of acting in the interests of the FDP rather than the public.

There is no confidence in any future cooperation with Lindner, Scholz stated.

The events follow a series of conflicts within the coalition, with the three parties disagreeing on the country’s economic policy and the management of a massive budget gap of over €60 billion. The SPD and the Greens have advocated new loans to stimulate the economy, while the FDP has opposed further debt and instead wanted to save on grants and state subsidies.

Christian Lindner FDP september 2021
Christan Lindner (FDP) in Munich, September 2021. Photo: Michael Lucan, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE

Accusing each other

The Chancellor strongly criticized Lindner during the press conference after the meeting. In particular, Scholz pointed to the FDP leader’s stance on tax cuts for high earners, while Lindner advocated reduced pensions for pensioners.

– It’s not decent. It’s not fair, Scholz said, adding that Lindner ”often blocked bills and broke my trust”.

Christian Lindner fired back during a press conference of his own, accusing Scholz of lacking the ability to lead the country. He says the chancellor tried to force him to lift the so-called “debt brake”. Something Lindner consistently says he has refused to do.

– Olaf Scholz has shown that he does not have the power to give our country a fresh start.

Scholz says he has nevertheless given the FDP leader generous proposals for solving the country’s budget problems.

– But I have to make it clear that the Finance Minister is not willing to implement this offer for the benefit of our country. I no longer want to subject our country to such behavior, Scholz stressed.

The traffic lights go out – FDP leaves the government

Shortly after Lindner’s resignation, the FDP announced that all ministers would leave their posts in the government. This means that Scholz will lose the majority that the SPD, Greens and FDP had together in the German Bundestag.

According to the Deutsche Welle TV channel, this means that Scholz will have to rely on a minority government until a vote of confidence can be held on January 15. Parliament can then decide on new elections, which could take place in March next year at the earliest.

The Social Democrats, Greens and FDP formed the so-called traffic light coalition in 2021, with the ambition to open a new chapter for Germany after Angela Merkel’s 16 years in power. Critics warned early on that the coalition’s ideological differences would create difficulties.

Conflicts within the coalition began in winter 2023 with the debate on replacing oil and gas boilers with heat pumps, followed by budget disputes after the government lifted the debt brake last year to face the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

With new elections as a potential outcome on the horizon, Germany is in a precarious political situation, and a weaker government risks finding it difficult to push through necessary reforms, according to analysts.

Root causes of the German government crisis

Germany's government crisis is rooted in the ideological and economic differences of the traffic light coalition (SPD, Greens and FDP):

  • Economic disagreement: the SPD and the Greens have advocated increased borrowing to meet budget deficits and stimulate the economy, while the FDP wants to maintain the debt brake and reduce spending instead of increasing the national debt.
  • Budget deficit: The decision of the Constitutional Court to annul the government's budget (due to the diversion of funds from the corona fund to climate initiatives) has created a deficit of over 65 billion euros, which heightened tensions between the parties.
  • Internal policy conflict: Past disputes over everything from climate policy to social reforms, such as the support for the replacement of oil and gas boilers, have further divided the coalition and undermined trust between the parties.

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EU Parliament threatens legal action against von der Leyen

Published yesterday 11:03
– By Editorial Staff
Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen belong to the same group and usually agree on most things.

The President of the European Parliament has warned the European Commission that legal action may be taken if the Commission bypasses EU lawmakers in its efforts to create a €150 billion loan program for military rearmament.

In March, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a plan to mobilize a total of €800 billion to increase the EU’s military capabilities. The initiative was justified by claims that Russia poses a major threat to Europe, which justifies a significant and rapid military buildup.

To finance the initiative, the Commission invoked Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This article allows for quick decisions in emergency situations without having to go through the regular legislative process, where members of the European Parliament have a say.

In a letter to von der Leyen on Monday, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola urged the Commission to use a different legal basis for the initiative. She also warned that the Parliament could take the matter to court if the request was not complied with.

Implementing the plan without the correct legal basis would end up “putting at risk democratic legitimacy by undermining Parliament’s legislative and scrutiny functions”, the letter said.

Referring to “exceptional” threat

Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told Euronews that the Commission “will always be available to explain why Article 122 has been chosen as the appropriate legal basis”.

Europe faces an unprecedented security threat. As stated by President von der Leyen in her Political Guidelines, Article 122 will only be used in exceptional circumstances, as the ones we are currently living in”, Regnier added.

The €150 billion loan program is seen by the Commission as a central part of the broader Readiness 2030 proposal, which aims to invest over €800 billion in EU defense by 2030. The Commission has repeatedly claimed that Russia could be in a position to threaten an EU member state militarily by that date.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has consistently dismissed such claims as “nonsense” and argued that they are being used to spread fear in Western Europe and legitimize a sharp increase in military spending.

Only one in five deported migrants leave the EU

Migration crisis in Europe

Published 6 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Migrants at Stockholm Central Station, 2015.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at the European People’s Party (EPP) Congress in Valencia, expressed frustration that only 20% of migrants ordered to leave the EU are actually deported.

Brussels now says it is stepping up efforts to increase deportations of migrants who do not have the right to stay in Europe, reports Germany’s Welt.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted an alarming statistic during the EPP congress in Valencia: only a fifth of those ordered to leave the Union actually travel back.

She noted that the low deportation rate damages confidence in the EU’s migration policy, but could not say why.

– We cannot explain to our citizens why only one-fifth of the people who have no right to stay in Europe actually leave, von der Leyen pointed out.

She warns that the lack of results is fueling anti-immigration sentiment across the continent and that the Union must act decisively to restore citizens’ trust in the EU project.

Ursula von der Leyen

Significant increase in migrants

Migration to Europe increased significantly in 2023 with more than one million asylum seekers, according to Frontex, the EU’s border and coast guard agency. Member states are struggling to manage the influx, but the deportation process is complicated by several factors.

For example, many migrants destroy their identity documents to avoid identification, making it difficult to determine their origin.

Some countries also refuse to accept their nationals, while others lack diplomatic relations or administrative capacity to manage return migration. The EU is negotiating readmission agreements with third countries, but the process is moving extremely slowly.

Von der Leyen calls for increased cooperation with countries of origin to untie the knots.

– We must show that we can protect our borders and respect the rule of law at the same time, she adds.

She declares that illegal border crossings into the EU will be reduced by 30% by 2025, mainly thanks to cooperation with neighboring countries.

The issue is divisive

Countries such as Poland and Hungary oppose the EU’s attempt to introduce uniform asylum rules. Meanwhile, frontline countries such as Italy and Greece have expressed that they feel abandoned by more northern member states in the face of migration.

The political charge surrounding migration has long hampered cooperation within the EU. National-conservative parties in Parliament are pushing for tougher border policies and large-scale deportations, while left-liberal parties are putting the brakes on such developments.

Ursula Von der Leyen stresses that progress needs to be made quickly, such as faster judicial processes for asylum applications and more effective border controls. However, she acknowledges that the solutions are not simple and says member states need to take more responsibility for implementing common decisions.

– Without concrete progress, the EU risks losing further credibility in the eyes of its citizens, she warns.

Spain and Portugal paralyzed by massive power outage

Published 28 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Large parts of public transport in Portugal and Spain were without power.

A widespread power outage hit Spain and Portugal at lunchtime on Monday, paralyzing public transport, delaying air traffic and leading to emergency meetings of the governments of both countries.

The cause of the blackout is still unclear and efforts are underway to restore the electricity grid.

The blackout was reported in several of Spain’s largest cities – including Seville, Barcelona, Pamplona and Valencia – and in parts of southern France.

Metro services in Madrid and Barcelona were suspended, forcing travelers to evacuate trains and walk along the tracks. Phone lines went down in large parts of Spain and Madrid’s main airport was left without power.

Hundreds of office workers gathered outside buildings on the streets of Madrid as they were forced to leave their offices. Police diverted traffic and patrolled central stations with flashlights, Reuters reported.

Spain’s national system operator, Red Eléctrica, announced that a “major incident” in the transmission network could be the cause of the outage. In a press briefing, CEO Eduardo Prieto said the restoration work could take “between six and ten hours”.

In Portugal, the network operator REN explained that “it is still impossible to predict when the situation will be normalized” and that all resources are mobilized.

Want to activate the military

Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso appealed to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to activate military action to maintain order.

– We ask the national government to activate Plan 3 so that the Army can maintain order, if necessary, she said in a statement.

Sánchez immediately traveled to Red Eléctrica headquarters to follow the work on the ground.

Serbian leader warns of Western “color revolution”

Published 25 March 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Aleksandar Vulin says the forces behind the protests want to “destroy Serbia”.

According to Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin, the country is threatened by an imminent “color revolution” orchestrated by Western intelligence services.

Vulin believes the ongoing unrest in Serbia is aimed at enforcing a pro-Western power shift similar to Ukraine’s Euromaidan revolution in 2014.

Student-led protests against alleged corruption and the government’s handling of a serious fatal accident have been going on for months in Serbia. The demonstrations were triggered in November 2024 after a concrete roof collapsed at a railway station in the city of Novy Sad, killing 15 people.

On March 15, thousands of protesters gathered in Belgrade, where dozens were injured in clashes between police and activists, and protests have continued to varying degrees over the past week.

A color revolution is taking place in Belgrade, Vulin declared during a meeting in Moscow this weekend, where he met Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council.

– Western security services are behind the color revolution as they want to put a new government in power, the Serbian minister continued, adding that the country’s authorities “would not allow it”.

Wants to “destroy Serbia”

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, has also accused foreign actors of fuelling the unrest in order to destabilize the country, claiming that the opposition is working with intelligence services in Croatia, Albania and the West to overthrow his government.

According to Aleksandar Vulin, the West’s goal is to “destroy Serbia” because the government in Belgrade is considered pro-Russian and has refused to support sanctions against Russia despite pressure.

He predicts that the forces allegedly behind the protests could soon push for a “radicalization” of the demonstrations and that violence risks escalating.

– Those who organized (the March 15 rally) would like to see a ‘Maidan’ and are working on making that happen.

Riots and war

The 2013-2014 Euromaidan protests in Kiev were initially relatively calm but soon degenerated into full-blown riots and street wars between police and protesters with over 100 people also killed and at least 855 injured. In retrospect, it has emerged that intelligence services and other EU and US interests fueled the unrest.

In the end, pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was forced to resign and was replaced by a pro-Western interim government. The takeover was seen by many as an illegitimate coup d’état and led to the proclamation of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts as independent people’s republics and Moscow’s annexation of the Russian-dominated and strategically important Crimean peninsula.

Since 2014, there has been a de facto war between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the East, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, a conflict that escalated sharply in February 2022 when Russia decided to invade Ukraine and “demilitarize” the country.

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