Spying a possible silver lining to events in the US, some commentators have speculated that the re-election of Donald Trump may at least concentrate minds among mainstream European leaders. Faced with a rapidly emerging new world order, and with homegrown far-right movements making the political weather, their response has at times appeared sluggish and unconvincing. Perhaps the shock of Trump 2.0 will finally convey the fierce urgency of now.
The sudden collapse of Germany’s fractious SPD‑led coalition government, as the US election verdict became clear, certainly points to a quickening of the political tempo. Olaf Scholz is a famously cautious, meticulous politician, with a reputation for equivocating. Not last week. In summarily sacking his finance minister, Christian Lindner, and triggering the exit of the Free Democratic party (FDP) from the government, Chancellor Scholz launched a sequence of events that will lead to snap elections in the spring, or even earlier.
Mr Scholz’s patience finally ran out during vital budget negotiations, when Mr Lindner – who leads the economically liberal FDP – once more made clear his determination to block SPD and Green-backed spending aimed at reviving Germany’s moribund economy and supporting Ukraine. At one level this could be viewed as futile manoeuvring aboard a sinking electoral ship as the iceberg looms. Mr Scholz’s disunited coalition has become deeply unpopular. Languishing at below 5% in the polls, the FDP may well have quit before a federal election due in September anyway.
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