Political situation in Germany

"The Höhö syndrome - something is fundamentally wrong with Scholz"  

 

The recent political efforts of the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are nailed in the country's newspapers. 

 

His actions after the major floods that hit the country have been described from some quarters as too tame, write Hans-Jörg Vehlewald and Stefanie Walter in a text in the newspaper Bild.  

 

The writers note that Scholz kept a very low profile during his visits to the affected regions. It mostly seemed like he was trying hard not to laugh, which is something that put former CDU leader Armin Laschet in a bind during one of his 2021 flood visits.  

 

In a column in Focus, Jan Fleischhauer goes on a hard attack against Scholz - and here, too, the focus is on laughter. Something is "fundamentally wrong" with the social democratic leader, writes Fleischhauer. He refers to the fact that Germany is on the threshold of a "permanent recession" and that the country may be without American nuclear protection next year.  

 

But the most common response from Scholz when he is pressed by journalists is a shuddering "heh heh heh", writes Fleischhauer. 

 

"This is superstition beyond all limits".  

 

Ulrich Reitz, correspondent at the same newspaper as Fleischhauer, writes in an analysis that the so-called debt brake is growing into a major problem for Scholz. The chancellor, and his government, are facing a difficult choice: Should they raise the debt ceiling to tackle the floods, or should they not?  

 

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Voters see Scholz - lowest chancellor support in 26 years 

 

Germany, and also the country's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, have had a difficult start to the new year.  

 

For the country as a whole, the setbacks are, among other things, about the widespread floods that affected many regions, but also about the economy, which has been struggling for a long time.  

 

For Scholz, the year has begun with gloomy reading in the form of the media houses' opinion polls. Recently, a new survey came out which shows that voters are very dissatisfied with the social democratic leader's efforts.  

 

Only 19 percent of eligible Germans are satisfied with Scholz, according to a survey by the television network ARD, which Zeit Online writes about. It is the worst record so far for Scholz.  

 

At the same time, the German WDR notes that no Chancellor has had such low numbers since the surveys began in 1997.