Dobrindt calls for new election - "Traffic light has lost legitimacy"

Coalition - Dobrindt calls for new election - "Traffic light has lost legitimacy"

In view of the ongoing budget dispute between the traffic light coalition, CSU state group leader Alexander Dobrindt has spoken out in favor of an early election on June 9, 2024 in parallel with the European elections. "The traffic light experiment has lost its legitimacy. An appropriate response would be new elections," the chairman of the CSU MPs in the Bundestag told the German Press Agency in Berlin in view of the poor poll ratings for the traffic light coalition and the protests against the planned budget cuts.

The path to an early election is not easy: among other things, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) would have to face a vote of confidence in parliament and lose. However, this is not foreseeable.

He wonders why Scholz "does not have the strength to return the decision on his policies to the voters", said Dobrindt. "That would be a politically appropriate reaction in this desolate situation that the traffic light has put Germany in." The traffic light "staggers from one wrong decision to the next without leadership". However, Scholz is shying away from a vote of confidence in the Bundestag "because it is obvious that there is no longer a majority for the traffic light experiment".

"Time has run out to join the Scholz government"

When asked whether the CDU/CSU would be prepared to join a coalition led by Scholz for a certain period of time if the traffic light coalition were to break up, Dobrindt said that the Chancellor had already been made an offer to tackle the biggest challenges. He mentioned the issues of the energy crisis, migration and the economy. "There has never been a response to this," criticized the CSU politician. "The time for that has run out. New elections would be necessary to legitimize a new policy."

However, if Scholz "clears the way for new elections, there is also a way for us to work together", said Dobrindt. Among other things, a respectful approach is necessary. "The traffic light has so far criminally refused to do so." If Scholz clears the way for a new election in 2024, a new CDU/CSU-led government will draw up the budget for the current year after the election. "That would also be the solution to the budget crisis." Until then, there will be provisional budget management. "With us, there will be a very quick budget after the election that puts an end to left-green ideology and offers real growth impetus to secure prosperity."

"Wagenknecht is taking a dangerous path"

The day of the European elections on June 9 would be an ideal date for a new election, said Dobrindt. He sees "the danger that the AfD will become the strongest party in the European elections if politics in Germany does not change." With every day that the traffic light is in office for longer, the AfD will see further gains. "The constant polarization and emotionalization of the population due to the traffic light policy is being discharged in protest, for which the AfD provides a rallying point."

Dobrindt warned that the new party of former left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht was taking "an extremely dangerous path". He added: "With her mixture of left-wing socialism and far-right politics, Wagenknecht will bring a dormant potential of opponents of the system to the ballot box and thus work together with the AfD to further destabilize Germany."

Dobrindt blames traffic lights for the rise of the AfD

If the AfD becomes the strongest party in the European elections, there is also an increased risk "that the three state elections in the east could produce the most difficult election results", said Dobrindt. Forecasts put the AfD at record levels in the east in particular. New state parliaments will be elected in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg in September. "The rise of the AfD can only be explained by the disrespectful policies of the traffic light in terms of content and style. This must be stopped urgently so that we don't one day see parts of Germany become ungovernable for the political center."

Dobrindt criticized the Greens as "the main problem of the traffic light government with their ideological stubbornness". He could not currently imagine the Greens participating in government under a CDU/CSU leadership. "Anyone who wants to credibly advocate a change in policy must also clearly state that green ideology must have no place in the next federal government."

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1. The traffic light coalition, comprising the SPD, Green Party, and FDP, is currently embroiled in a budget dispute.
2. The CSU, a sister party to the CDU, is part of the Traffic Light Coalition in the Bundestag with the SPD and FDP.
3. Sahra Wagenknecht, a former left-wing politician, is forming a new party that criticizes the current coalition.
4. Alexander Dobrindt, the leader of the CSU group in the Bundestag, advocates for an early election due to the traffic light coalition's poor ratings and budget cuts protests.
5. The coalition's poor performance in polls and resistance to a vote of confidence in parliament make an early election challenging for Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
6. Dobrindt criticizes Scholz for not returning policy decisions to the German voters, viewing it as a politically appropriate response to the coalition's failures.
7. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has gained support due to the traffic light coalition's controversial policies, which Dobrindt attributes to the coalition's disrespectful actions.
8. In the upcoming European elections on June 9, 2024, Dobrindt suggests holding parallel parliamentary elections to strengthen Germany's political center.

Source: www.stern.de