The Scholz cabinet (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
: ''Kabinett Scholz'', ) is the current
cabinet of Germany
The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government (german: link=no, Bundeskabinett or ') is the chief Executive (government), executive body of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Chancellor of Germany, Federal Chancellor and m ...
, led by
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Olaf Scholz (; born ) is a German politician who has served as the chancellor of Germany since 8 December 2021. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor of German ...
. The cabinet is composed of Scholz's
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
,
Alliance 90/The Greens
Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...
and the
Free Democratic Party, an arrangement known as a "
traffic light coalition
In German politics, a traffic light coalition (german: Ampelkoalition) is a coalition government of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Alliance 90/The Greens. It is named after the parties' tra ...
" in Germany after the parties'
traditional colours, respectively red, green and yellow, matching the colour sequence of a traffic light (''Ampel''). This traffic light coalition-government is the first of its kind at the federal level in the history of the German federal republic.
Following the
2021 German federal election
Federal elections in Germany, Federal elections were held in Germany on 26 September 2021 to elect the members of the List of members of the 20th Bundestag, 20th Bundestag. States of Germany, State elections in 2021 Berlin state election, Berli ...
, the three parties reached a
coalition agreement
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
on 24 November 2021. The SPD approved the coalition agreement by 98.8% (598 yes-votes to 7 no-votes and 3 abstentions) at the party's federal convention on 4 December 2021. The FDP approved the coalition agreement by 92.24% (535 yes-votes to 37 no-votes and 8 abstentions) at the party's federal convention on 5 December 2021. The Greens approved the agreement via a party-wide referendum, the results of which were declared on 6 December (61,174 yes-votes to 8,275 no-votes and 1,701 abstentions).
Scholz was elected as
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
by the
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
on 8 December 2021.
His cabinet, as determined by the coalition agreement, was formally appointed by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician serving as President of Germany since 19 March 2017. He was previously Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, as well as Vice Chan ...
on the same day.
Composition
The cabinet consists of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and sixteen federal ministers. The SPD has eight positions, the Greens have five and the FDP has four.
Policy
Economy and energy
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Scholz government passed a gas rationing law, under the leadership of economy minister
Robert Habeck
Robert Habeck (; born 2 September 1969) is a German politician and writer who has been serving as Vice Chancellor of Germany, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in ...
(Greens). In August 2022, a major expansion of the BAföG system of government grants and loans for students and trainees was introduced, fulfilling a key FDP government program plank. The largest housing benefits reform since 1965 will come into effect on January 1st, 2023, with the number of households entitled to receive the benefits increasing from 600,000 in 2022 to over 2 million in 2023, and the allowances for heating and cooling more than doubling. The Traffic Light coalition also agreed on a major 200 billion Euro energy relief package in October 2022, to come into effect starting in January 2023 and running through mid-2024. The government announced a gas price capping scheme called
Gaspreisbremse for 2023.
Labour
In October 2022, the minimum wage was increased to 12 Euros per hour, fulfilling a key SPD election campaign promise. The Scholz government proposed a reform of unemployment payments, moving Germany from
Hartz IV
The Hartz concept, also known as Hartz reforms or the Hartz plan, is a set of recommendations submitted by a committee on reforms to the German labour market in 2002. Named after the head of the committee, Peter Hartz, these recommendations went ...
to a so-called
Bürgergeld The () is Germany's unemployment payment introduced on 1 January 2023. The was developed by Olaf Scholz's coalition government and agreed by Germany's two chambers in November 2022. Compared to its predecessor (commonly known as Hartz IV), ...
system.
Transport
In its first year, the Scholz government introduced the
9-Euro-Ticket
The 9-Euro-Ticket was a German scheme through which passengers could travel for 9 euros per month on local and regional transport in all of Germany. The tickets were valid for June, July, or August 2022. The offer aimed at reducing energy use ...
in summer 2022. The transport ministry, led by
Volker Wissing
Volker Wissing (born 22 April 1970) is a German lawyer, former judge and politician of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) who has been serving as the party's General Secretary since 2020, and as Minister for Transport in the federal govern ...
(Free Democrats), failed to prepare an adequate plan to meet emissions reduction targets in the transport sector in summer 2022. However, in October 2022, the federal government and the states agreed to implement a nationwide 49 Euro per month public transport ticket, which will apply to all local and regional transit across the country and eliminate the previous maze of tariff zones starting in 2023.
Health
Under health minister and medical professor Karl Lauterbach (
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
), the vaccination ratio stagnated at 75% (as of August 2022).
Social Policy
In June 2022, the SPD, Greens, FDP, and Die Linke voted to repeal
Paragraph Section 219a of the Criminal Code ("Strafgesetzbuch"), which outlawed the so-called "advertisement" of abortion services (a legal term). The paragraph had prohibited doctors from specifying online which kinds of abortion services they provide, and under what circumstances.
Defense Policy
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Traffic Light coalition joined with the opposition CDU/CSU to pass a special 100 billion Euro package to finance a re-arming of the Bundeswehr, marking a radical break with the foreign policy of the past 70 years. The funds are to be used to purchase new fighter jets (including the F-35), armed drones, boats, submarines, combat vehicles, and personal equipment. 41 billion Euros are earmarked for the airforce, 19 billion for the navy, 17 billion for the ground forces, and 21 billion across all branches of the military for new communication technology and to counter the threat of cyberattacks.
Animal welfare
Agriculture minister Cem Özdemir proposed a mandatory
Animal Husbandry Label for animal products that are produced in Germany and also destined for sale in Germany.
Governance
In the first year of the Scholz coalition, family minister
Anne Spiegel resigned, under pressure for her handling of a 2021 flooding crisis in her former role as
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
environment minister. She was replaced by her fellow Green party member
Lisa Paus.
Chancellor Scholz was summoned by a panel investigating the
Cum Ex affair, for his role in the city of Hamburg's decision not to prosecute a bank that had illicitly gained tax funds.
References
Coalition governments of Germany
Cabinets of Germany
Cabinets established in 2021
2021 establishments in Germany
Current governments
Olaf Scholz
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