China News Service, December 8th (Zhang Aolin) On the morning of the 8th local time, the German Bundestag formally elected the SPD candidate for Chancellor Schultz as the new German Chancellor. He himself plans to start at 12:00 local time on the 8th (Beijing). Time 8th at 19:00), sworn in at the Bundestag.

Data map: German Chancellor Schultz.

　　With Schultz's appointment, Merkel, the "Iron Lady" who has been at the helm of Germany for 16 years, also officially stepped down, and the "Merkel Era" officially ended.

　　At the final farewell ceremony, Merkel called the 16 years of prime ministerial career "full of challenges". Today, Schultz officially takes over from Merkel. What awaits him will be more severe challenges.

　　Where will he lead the "German Chariot", who is smug?

The dust settles after the long set up

German "traffic light" government is about to set sail

　　In fact, the results of the German general election were released as early as September. The results at the time showed that the Social Democratic Party received 25.7% of the vote, the Coalition Party received 24.1%, and the Green Party and the Liberal Democratic Party received 14.8% and 11.5% respectively. .

On August 26, a pedestrian passed by a campaign display in Scholz, a street in Berlin.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Peng Dawei

　　Since no one party won the majority, the Social Democratic Party surpassed the conservative coalition led by then-Prime Minister Merkel by a small advantage, and began a lengthy cabinet negotiation.

It is precisely because of the delay in the formation of a new government that Merkel has gained a new title in the last three months-"Premier of the Caretaker".

　　In the process of forming the cabinet, the "traffic light" alliance formed by the Social Democratic Party (red), the Green Party and the Liberal Democratic Party (yellow) is the most optimistic.

　　After the three parties have undergone ground-breaking dialogue and cabinet formation negotiations, the final result is as expected by the outside world-the successful formation of a cabinet.

On December 7, local time, the three parties signed a joint governance agreement, marking the official completion of the three-party cabinet.

　　According to the latest news, Schultz has been officially elected as the new German Chancellor on the morning of the 8th local time.

　　According to the agenda announced by the German Bundestag and the Presidential Palace, Schultz will then go to the Presidential Palace to accept the Prime Minister's letter of appointment issued by German President Steinmeier. He and the cabinet members will be sworn in afterwards.

　　The new German government is about to set sail.

Many challenges at home and abroad

How do Schultz's "three fires" burn?

　　In the past 16 years, the outside world has become accustomed to Germany under the leadership of the "Iron Lady" Merkel. What leadership style will Schultz have now as the prime minister?

　　The name Scholtz may be relatively unfamiliar to many people.

At the Group of Twenty (G20) summit held in October this year, an interesting scene also appeared.

Data map: Schultz (left) and Merkel.

　　At that time, Merkel brought Schultzman, who was still the deputy prime minister and finance minister, to "socialize" and chatted with U.S. President Biden, French President Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, and Italian Prime Minister De Gila. All over.

　　You know, this is all "head diplomacy," and it is said that Schultz's "level" at the time was still not qualified.

Obviously, this is Merkel's intention to "draw relations" for her successor.

　　Nevertheless, the White House mistakenly wrote "Scholz" as "Schulz" in a memo.

This also caused the German media to laugh at themselves: Outside the Brussels circle (European Union), Schultz's popularity is still not good.

　　In addition to personal influence, in the new political landscape, the Coalition Party, which has been in power for four consecutive terms, will play the role of the opposition party in the Bundestag, and the Coalition Party will only lose to the Social Democrats in the general election at a weak disadvantage.

Some German media analyzed that once the Schultz government came to power, its ability to govern will face a huge test.

　　Despite the pressure, Schultz is still complacent.

　　On the day of the signing of the three-party joint governance agreement, Schultz emphasized that the core of the new government's foreign policy is to create a strong and independent European Union.

He also said that his first destination after taking office will be Paris, France.

　　It can be seen that the foreign policy focus of the new government will still be the European Union.

In addition, he also said that countries with different government models should also carry out multilateral cooperation, and expressed "unease" about the recent Russian-Ukrainian border issue.

　　Regarding the new crown epidemic, Schultz reiterated the importance of vaccination.

　　At the same time, the three parties in power jointly plan to improve the economic conditions of the low-income class, tenants and families.

Specifically, the new government plans to raise the minimum wage from 9.6 euros to 12 euros, build 400,000 houses each year, and extend the period of application of the rent cap policy.

On October 26, local time, German President Steinmeier announced the end of his term at the government's retirement ceremony and officially handed it over to Merkel, who has served as German Chancellor for 16 years.

Steinmeier had asked Merkel to continue to perform the duties of prime minister until the next prime minister was appointed.

"The Merkel Era" Ends

Merkel: I want to say thank you

　　With Schultz's election as Chancellor, Merkel, who came to power in 2005 and ruled Germany for 16 years, also officially ended her career as Chancellor.

　　On December 2, local time, the German Bundeswehr held a military music farewell ceremony for Merkel in Berlin.

At the ceremony that evening, Merkel stated that her sixteen-year career as prime minister was "busy and full of challenges." Not only politically, but also humanely, she set very high demands on her, and always put her Time is full.

　　Merkel also said, “I feel humbled in the face of the duties I have performed for such a long time. I am grateful for the trust I have received. I always believe that trust is the most important asset in the political field, and trust is never casual. Available, so I want to express my heartfelt thanks."

　　On December 4th, local time, Merkel delivered her last weekly video speech during her term as prime minister.

In her speech, she still used most of the space to talk about the new crown epidemic, and said that there will be difficult times in the next few weeks, and only joint efforts can overcome this test.

　　At the end of the speech, Merkel said: "I want to say, thank you."

(over)