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by Paolo Cappelli

28 September 2021

The Independent Is

he the new leader of Germany?

Olaf Scholz, who yesterday claimed victory in the elections, called into question Brexit for the lack of truckers the UK is suffering

The army employed, the pump prices at the highest of the last 8 years

The government has ordered an appeal to the military to distribute fuel in a dramatic escalation of the gasoline crisis that has dried up distributors and pushed prices to records of the last 8 years.

In an emergency meeting in Whitehall, ministers agreed on the use of soldiers to drive trucks and urged citizens not to indulge in the panic of a full tank of petrol.

The Guardian

Brexit blame the current UK petrol crisis, says lead candidate Angela Merkel.

Olaf Scholz, who will try to form a ruling coalition in Germany, said he hopes Boris Johnson can better manage the consequences of leaving the EU. Germany also lacks truck drivers, between 45 and 60 thousand, but thanks to the free movement of workers in the European Union, these shortcomings are overcome by resorting to labor from other EU countries. Keir Starmer, Labor leader, and the leaders of the sector are asking the Prime Minister to do more but for now the Cabinet decides not to deploy troops immediately.   

Daily Telegraph

Distributor priority for key sector workers, plan to mitigate crisis

Some distributors may be reserved for doctors while the prime minister is under pressure to take other extraordinary measures.

FT

The rush to fill up with fuel puts health services at risk, doctors warn

Healthcare workers and transport companies warned yesterday that the fuel crisis threatens serious consequences for healthcare and essential services, and called for priority access to petrol and diesel following panic queues at the petrol station. The scale of the crisis, with most of the UK's 8,000 service stations empty of fuel, prompted the government to put the military on high alert to help with deliveries. The British Medical Association said health workers who rely on cars risk being unable to go to work, while taxi companies and couriers said severe shortages threaten a significant disruption.

FT

Political renewal is a German force

Scholz wins, but smaller parties hold the key to power.

For the first time in 70 years, the combined voting share of the two once powerful "people's parties" has dropped below half. German voters have placed their trust in smaller parties to bring about change. The Greens and the Liberals can bring new ideas and energy to the government. It is striking that while Scholz and Laschet debated who should go first with the negotiations, the two smaller parties have prepared to open talks between them. This shows that they are serious about bridging their considerable differences, particularly on regulation and fiscal policy. It also shows that they want to use their influence as new kingmakers.

Tagesspiegel

New balance of power

Liberals and Greens start two-way talks in view of the formation of the new

Grunen

government

disappointed by the outcome of the vote but ready to join the majority. The Greens are said to have agreed on Robert Habeck in advance, in case of a disappointing election result. Candidate Chancellor Annalena Baerbock had her chance.

The mantra before these elections was: enough, we don't have to go on like this anymore. What was meant was the stop, the inertia in the reforms, the stalemate in crisis management. But the picture is varied. There was above all one party, Die Grünen, which was fighting for a genuine awakening of Germany and for a real "social change". It received almost 15%. The mood in the country is consequently more averse to change than the mantra that we shouldn't move forward, the data suggest. The upheavals caused by the financial, refugee and pandemic crises may have increased many people's desire for predictability and stability. Now we are moving towards a coalition government of at least three. Another obstacle to an unexpected push to act is that possible chancellors,Olaf Scholz and Armin Laschet don't have a really convincing government mandate. About a quarter of the votes went to the SPD and the Union. Never before has a party providing chancellor in Germany had such a low approval rate. So whoever governs the country will probably do it first and with the handbrake on. Because we don't see how the Greens and liberals can complement each other in a sensible way instead of blocking each other. How does the liberal bloc intend to finance ambitious climate protection when tax hikes and debt limits are fundamentally taboo? The Greens and FDP have a hard time finding themselves on key issues of German politics.now a party providing chancellor in Germany has had such a low approval rate. So whoever governs the country will probably do it first and with the handbrake on. Because we don't see how the Greens and liberals can complement each other in a sensible way instead of blocking each other. How does the liberal bloc intend to finance ambitious climate protection when tax hikes and debt limits are fundamentally taboo? The Greens and FDP have a hard time finding themselves on key issues of German politics.now a party providing chancellor in Germany has had such a low approval rate. So whoever governs the country will probably do it first and with the handbrake on. Because we don't see how the Greens and liberals can complement each other in a sensible way instead of blocking each other. How does the liberal bloc intend to finance ambitious climate protection when tax hikes and debt limits are fundamentally taboo? The Greens and FDP have a hard time finding themselves on key issues of German politics.Because we don't see how the Greens and liberals can complement each other in a sensible way instead of blocking each other. How does the liberal bloc intend to finance ambitious climate protection when tax hikes and debt limits are fundamentally taboo? The Greens and FDP have a hard time finding themselves on key issues of German politics.Because we don't see how the Greens and liberals can complement each other in a sensible way instead of blocking each other. How does the liberal bloc intend to finance ambitious climate protection when tax hikes and debt limits are fundamentally taboo? The Greens and FDP have a hard time finding themselves on key issues of German politics.

Die Zeit

Big and young like never before

Younger, bigger, more colorful: the newly elected Bundestag has some special features.

Almost 30% of parliamentarians are 40 or younger: in the Bundestag elected in 2017 it was only 15%. This is mainly due to the strengthening of Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals With Emilia Fester and Niklas Wagener, the Greens have two 23-year-olds in parliament, which makes them the youngest MPs ever. More than 40% of green parliamentarians are under the age of 40.

Dresdner 

The prime minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, CDU, 46: 'people didn't want to vote for us. On the voting map, how and where the elections have changed the political landscape. Impenetrable for the CDU the AfD fiefdom in the East, the North was lost to the SPD. The Union remains ahead only in the south of the country and also in Bavaria in reality for the CSU these were the worst elections since 1949.

Der Spiegel

The end of the black republic

Lots of red, less black, a blue wedge and green flecks: the political map has changed overnight in a way that hasn't happened long after the elections. Millions of German voters have moved their vote after 4 years. Who won and where? The Greens have conquered the young, yes, but above all in the big cities, less in the provinces. North Rhine Westphalia remains the only bastion of the Union outside Southern Germany. The North turns SPD red: the Social Democrats won the majority in 151 of the 299 constituencies.

Tagblatt

Interview with political scientist Albrecht von Lucke   

We are experiencing the end of the black republic, in which everything revolved around the Union for 16 years. This election of Scholz as male Merkel was decided by the losers. Because just a year ago this result would have been unthinkable with the Union ahead of more than 20 points on the SPD. The CDU / CSU played a far better result, and the same goes for the Greens. Basically, the SPD profits from the historic failure of these two parties. Olaf Scholz's calculation worked: relying on Merkel's vacuum was the only possibility for the SPD. But for SPD to make a comeback, two prerequisites were needed.

Which?

On the one hand, the mistakes of Annalena Baerbock ...

... the Greens were at 25% in spring.

With her beautified resume, plagiarism in her book, and extra income reported to the taxman late, she came out of the race for the stationery early on. And on the other hand, it took the failure of the Union, which carelessly renounced the much stronger candidate, namely Markus Söder. If he didn't, he could win the election. He is still the most popular politician and without laughing out loud - he would easily have taken the Union over 30%. Söder's candidacy would have had another decisive advantage, namely that a Söder would never have a Söder against him.

La Croix

In search of a coalition

After the narrow victory of his party, Olaf Scholz intends to succeed Angela Merkel.

published: Europe will wait for Germany, writes Jerome Chapuis, the negotiations to form the new government are expected to be long and difficult.

El Pais

Scholz offers a three-party government to Greens and Liberals

For the leader of the SPD, the CDU must go to the opposition, that's what the German voters asked for.

The

Green and Liberal

Presses

elect the chancellor

Germany's fate is in the hands of two different parties from the SPD and the CDU: impossible to run for the chancellery, possible indeed inevitable to become the kanzlermacher, those who will decide who will become federal chancellor.

Two options: Jamaica, the pact with the loser, Laschet.

Or, traffic lights: taxes and finances as obstacles.

Les Echos

The lessons of the elections.

The Germans, who cannot imagine entrusting full powers to a chancellor who only got 25% of the votes, are forging an inconceivable compromise in France.

The candidates show a political reasonableness far from our French schemes, where we do not miss an opportunity to exaggerate with the oppositions.

Welt

Liberals and Greens meet in two-way preliminary talks on the composition of a majority and on programmatic contents Scholz wants a traffic light government, Laschet wants to stay (at the helm of the CDU).

SZ

Scholz confident in victory and in the possibility of an executive with Liberals and Greens, Laschet vying for the support of the Union.

Meanwhile, the Greens and Liberals are looking for a meeting ground to formulate requests to coalition partners.

FAZ

Greens and Liberals start two-way talks

The new parliamentary groups of the SPD, the Union, the Greens and the Left meet for the first consultations. In the Union, in particular, the election to chair the parliamentary group hides a potential conflict. There is a growing internal malaise about the strategy of the CDU boss Laschet.

GERALD BRAUNBERGER: Scholz and the left wandering SPD

the shift in the balance of political power in Germany is no better photographed than by talks with two FDPs and Greens before talks with the SPD and the Union begin. This is all the more remarkable as the FDP and the Greens themselves have achieved decent, but not exceptional, election results. But the SPD lacks alternatives after - and this is excellent news for the country - no majority with the Greens and the Left is possible. This strengthens Olaf Scholz against the wandering left of the SPD and should put an end to all dreams that a national over-indebtedness policy can be pursued using debt brake tricks. Instead, the SPD needs a FDP for a traffic light coalition, which cannot afford games ofgamble in view of his electorate and must insist on a market economy policy.

Le Figaro

Macron tries to regain the momentum of 2017.