Scholz cabinet | |
---|---|
24th Cabinet of the Federal Republic of Germany | |
8 December 2021 | |
Date formed | 8 December 2021 3 years, 15 days in office |
People and organisations | |
President | Frank-Walter Steinmeier |
Chancellor | Olaf Scholz |
Vice Chancellor | Robert Habeck |
Member parties | Social Democratic Party Alliance 90/The Greens Free Democratic Party (2021–2024) |
Status in legislature | Traffic light coalition (2021–2024) 415 / 735 (56%)
Red-green coalition (minority) (from 2024)
|
Opposition parties | Christian Democratic Union Christian Social Union Free Democratic Party (from 2024) Alternative for Germany The Left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (from 2024) |
Opposition leader | Ralph Brinkhaus (CDU) (2021–2022) Friedrich Merz (CDU) (from 2022) |
History | |
Election | 2021 federal election |
Legislature terms | 20th Bundestag |
Predecessor | Merkel IV |
The Scholz cabinet (German: Kabinett Scholz, pronounced [kabiˈnɛt ʃɔlt͡s] ) is the current cabinet of Germany, led by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The cabinet is composed of Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Alliance 90/The Greens. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) was a member of the cabinet until 7 November 2024 when the three-way coalition collapsed through Scholz's dismissal of FDP Finance Minister Christian Lindner. Scholz announced pursuing a snap election to be held in early 2025.[1][2] On 16 December 2024, Scholz lost a vote of no confidence. On the same day, he requested the President of Germany to dissolve the Bundestag; the President has 21 days to approve the request and, if so, call new elections. It is expected that President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will grant the request and call new elections for 23 February 2025.
The coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP was an arrangement known as a "traffic light coalition" in German politics after the parties' traditional colours, respectively red, yellow and green, matching the colours of a traffic light (Ampel). This traffic light coalition-government was the first of its kind at the federal level in the history of the German federal republic.
In 2023, a mid-term review of the coalition agreement's implementation found that compared to the preceding grand coalition (Merkel IV), the traffic light government had achieved 38 instead of 53 per cent of its coalition promises, which is proportionally less, but with 174 instead of 154 fulfilled promises; it had actually achieved somewhat more in absolute terms. This applies to the government's major reform projects as well as to smaller government projects.[3]