German Prime Minister Says Citizens Need To Use Washcloths Instead Of Showers Amidst Energy Crisis And Inflation August 21, 2022 by Jacob M. Thompson 2 Comments German Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann recently told residents that they need to make the switch to using wash rags instead of taking showers. He described this morning's scenes as the most horrific act of. By 1 September 2022 the actual volume of German arms deliveries to Ukraine was only exceeded by that of deliveries by the United States and the United Kingdom. The Green Party's co-leaders, Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, are poised to take on the roles of foreign minister and economy and climate minister, respectively. [58] Also in June 2021, Scholz had the Federal Central Tax Office purchase information about potential tax evaders from Dubai. The head of the federal government of the North German Confederation, which was created on 1 July 1867, had the title Bundeskanzler. Another challenge will be to transform the economy to a greener, more digitized version of its current state and doing so without raising taxes or putting Germany into debt, a concern of the incoming finance minister, Christian Lindner, head of the Free Democratic Party. Article 65 of the Basic Law sets forth three principles that define how the executive branch functions: Political party: Gerhard Schrder lived there between 1999 and 2001. The title was, at times, used in several states of German-speaking Europe. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday (Feb 27) opened his extraordinary speech to the German Bundestag with this sentence: "The 24th of February, 2022, marked a change in the history of our. The vice chancellor may deputise for the chancellor, if they are absent or unable to perform their duties. ", "Germany: Chancellor Scholz vows to help Ukraine in speech to parliament", "Pressure mounts on Germany to drop rejection of SWIFT ban for Russia", "Europe is 'behind a wall again,' Zelenskyy tells Bundestag", "Does Germany really need LNG terminals? The correct style of address in German is Herr Bundeskanzler (male) or Frau Bundeskanzlerin (female). [126], During his campaign in the 2021 election, Scholz opposed a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz chat prior to a meeting in Montreal on Monday, August 22, 2022. February 15, 2022, 5:56 AM. Scholz came to Warsaw in December 2021 for talks with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. [51], In 2019, Scholz ran for leader of the SPD, but lost to Norbert Walter-Borjans. "[167] By then, the January 2023 debate about supplying tanks to Ukraine was still to come. He was elected after the SPD entered into a coalition agreement with Alliance 90/The Greens and the FDP. [5] The task of putting together the Reich government was nevertheless the responsibility of the chancellor. In 1871, the concept of the federal chancellor was transferred to the executive of the newly formed German Empire, which now also contained the South German states. The chancellor must appoint one of the cabinet ministers as vice chancellor (Article 69.1 Basic Law). The "principle of ministerial autonomy" entrusts each minister with the freedom to supervise departmental operations and prepare legislative proposals without cabinet interference so long as the minister's policies are consistent with the chancellor's broader guidelines. The German Confederation of 18151866 did not have a government or parliament, only the Bundestag as representative organ of the states. They discussed the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which would bring Russian gas under the Baltic Sea to Germany bypassing Poland, and Poland's dispute with the EU over the rule of law and the primacy of European Union law. Answer new questions for the future! Olaf Scholz, the center-left Social Democratic Party's candidate, is set to be Germany's next chancellor. [30] Scholz resigned as a Member of the Bundestag on 11 March 2011, days after his formal election as First Mayor of Hamburg; Dorothee Stapelfeldt, also a Social Democrat, was appointed his Deputy First Mayor. Carsten Koall/Getty Images [78], On 24 November, the SPD, Green and FDP reached a coalition agreement with Scholz as the new German chancellor.[79]. [6] He later found employment as a lawyer specialising in labour and employment law, working at the law firm Zimmermann, Scholz und Partner. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got an earful from a German Member of EU Parliament on Wednesday. After the SPD quit the government following the 2009 election, Scholz returned to lead the SPD in Hamburg, and was elected Deputy Leader of the SPD. German businesses are anxious to see what this transformation means for them in reality, in terms of energy prices and business costs. [180] At his inauguration as Chancellor in 2021, Scholz took the oath of office without a reference to God (the second Chancellor to do so after Gerhard Schrder) and is the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany to not belong to a Church.[181]. The former seat of the Federal Chancellery, the Palais Schaumburg in the former capital Bonn, now serves as a secondary official seat. [158] That same month, Germany policy changed and the chancellor avowed that Germany would provide Ukraine with more than 1 billion euro to spend on military resources. The president of Germany may ask the former chancellor to act as chancellor until a new office holder is elected, but if they are unwilling or unable to do so, the president may also appoint the vice chancellor as acting chancellor. In the 1871 German Empire, the Reichskanzler (" Imperial Chancellor ") served both as the emperor's first minister and as presiding officer of the Bundesrat, the upper chamber of the German parliament. Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933 by Paul von Hindenburg. 1. Like Merkel's "grand" coalition of center-right CDU-CSU and center-left SPD, the new government includes parties from both sides of the political divide, he noted. [21][22], Scholz served as the SPD spokesperson on the inquiry committee investigating the German Visa Affair in 2005. Germany will try to dedicate 2% of its land surface to wind power infrastructure and will continue to exclude nuclear power from its energy mix, a policy that deviates from the policy of its neighbor France. The process begins with the President of Germany proposing a candidate to the Bundestag (A formality, as they are usually a candidate on which majority parties have agreed to beforehand), who is then voted upon without debate ("1st voting phase"). [29], In 2011, Scholz was the lead SPD candidate at the Hamburg state election, which the SPD won with 48.3 per cent of the votes, taking 62 of 121 seats in the Hamburg Parliament. the Prussian king; since 1871 called Emperor). In reality this power was limited by the needs of coalition governments and the powers of the Reich president. Germany is today often referred to as a "chancellor democracy", reflecting the role of the chancellor as the country's chief executive. The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today had a successful bilateral visit to Germany. With the enlargement of this federal state to the German Empire in 1871, the title was renamed to Reichskanzler (meaning "Imperial Chancellor"). The title of chancellor additionally symbolized a strong monarchist, bureaucratic, and ultimately antiparliamentary component, as in the Prussian tradition of, for instance, Hardenberg. [48][49], After a lengthy period of government formation following the 2017 federal election, during which the CDU, CSU and SPD agreed to continue in coalition, Scholz was accepted by all parties as Federal Minister of Finance. [26][27], Following the 2009 federal election, when the SPD left the Government, Scholz was elected as Deputy Leader of the SPD, replacing Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The current officeholder is Olaf Scholz of the SPD, who was elected in December 2021, succeeding Angela Merkel. Helmut Kohl presided over 17 ministers at the start of his fourth term in 1994; the 2002 cabinet, the second of Chancellor Gerhard Schrder, had 13 ministers, and the Angela Merkel cabinet as of 22 November 2005 had 15. [71] The team of Klara Geywitz and Olaf Scholz received after the first round of the membership decision on 26 October 2019, with 22.7 percent, the highest share of the six candidate duos standing for election. Technically, the foreign ministers of the empire's states instructed their states' deputies to the Bundesrat and therefore outranked the chancellor. [1/4] German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addresses the media at a joint press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store following their talks in Berlin, Germany, January 19, 2022.Kay . [142] As a consequence of aggression by Nazi Germany, Poland lost about a fifth of its population and much of Poland was subjected to enormous destruction of its industry and infrastructure.[143][144]. "The Resources of a German Chancellor". .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}CDU The chancellor was also nearly always minister president of Prussia. For other uses, see, Senator for the Interior of Hamburg, 2001, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, 20072009, Vice Chancellor and Minister of Finance, 20182021. This has happened once: On 7 May 1974 Chancellor Willy Brandt resigned as a consequence of the Guillaume affair, an espionage scandal. The agreement is the result of weeks of coalition talks between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. The data should serve to uncover cross-border tax offenses on a significant scale. By 17 March about 2,000 portable missile weapons against tanks and aircraft had been sent. Instead, the chancellor was appointed by the emperor. 02/27/2022 In a historic parliamentary session, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced his government's decision to supply weapons to Kyiv, to support a wide range of sanctions against Russia,. people asked skeptically," Scholz told a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, according to a Reuters translation. 1991. The "cabinet principle" calls for disagreements between federal ministers over jurisdictional or budgetary matters to be settled by the cabinet. As of 2021, all chancellors of the federal republic have been (re-)elected on proposal of the President and on the first ballot with the sole exception of Helmut Kohl, who was elected to his first term via a constructive vote of no confidence against Helmut Schmidt. On taking office, Hitler immediately began accumulating power and changing the nature of the chancellorship. With Germany's constitution of 1949, the title of Bundeskanzler was revived. Polish PM Receives Olaf Scholz in Warsaw, Talks of War Reparations and a "Europe of Sovereign States", "Leaders of Poland, Germany call for 'swift' solution to Warsaw's rule of law row with EU", "Poland's ruling party picks a fight with Germany", "Zweiter Weltkrieg: Polens Regierung prft Reparationsforderungen an Deutschland", "Fact check: Does Germany send weapons to crisis regions? hide caption. In recent days, each party approved a coalition agreement that lays out government objectives, such as raising the minimum wage to 12 euros/hour ($13.50), phasing out coal-fired power plants by 2030 and making a pledge for the country to go carbon neutral by 2045. [81] At 63years, 177days of age, Scholz is the oldest person to become Chancellor of Germany since Ludwig Erhard who was 66years, 255days old when he assumed office on 17 October 1963. He left office in October 2001, after the defeat of his party at the 2001 Hamburg state election and the election of Ole von Beust as First Mayor. He ended it by accusing the German government of "dragging its feet" with regard to taking action against Russia. [50] Within his first months in office, Scholz became one of Germany's most popular politicians, reaching an approval rating of 50 per cent. [100] He tried to persuade Chinese Vice Premier Liu He that China should be more open to German firms. The SPD's future Chancellor Olaf Scholz just announced the names of his Ministers. ", "German Ban on Arms Exports to Saudis Spurs Pushback", "Scholz secures gas deal with Abu Dhabi amid pressure on human rights", "Germany's Scholz seeks to deepen energy partnership with Saudi Arabia", "German government approves arms exports to Saudi Arabia: reports", "Ukraine crisis: Germany halts Nord Stream 2 approval", "Russia should not be cut off from SWIFT at the moment - Germany's Scholz", "Scholz and liberal finance minister clash over nuclear phase-out", "Germany to mobilise 200bn economic 'shield' to field energy crisis", 8 key players in Germany's coalition talks, "China, Germany promise closer financial cooperation", "From client to competitor: China's rise prompts German rethink", "Scholz Prepares First Official Trip to China as German Position Turns Hawkish", "Germany's Scholz calls for coordinated approach to convince Turkey to end Syria operation", "Angriff auf die Mittelschicht: Warum Olaf Scholz' Aktiensteuer eine schlechte Idee ist", "Aktiensteuer: Finanzexperten kritisieren Plne von Olaf Scholz", "Scholz will uns Jungen die letzte Mglichkeit des Sparens nehmen", "Medienbericht: Scholz legt offenbar Gesetzentwurf fr Brsensteuer vor", "Finanztransaktionssteuer: Olaf Scholz zerstrt eine gute Idee", "Forscher sehen gravierende Schwchen bei Finanztransaktionsteuer", France, Germany still split on eurozone reforms, French official says, "Groer Wurf? Upon assuming the chancellorship in December 2021, he stated he would soon be meeting with President Joe Biden, saying: "It is now clear what binds us together. Secretary Antony J. Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the Munich Security Conference . He often treated his ministers as mere extensions of his authority rather than colleagues. He's a known quantity who has a deep understanding of the political process and how to get things done, and because of that, he has often been compared to President Biden. And it'll be crucial for this new administration to show it can govern as a unified coalition, making the economy more competitive, not only improving people's lives, but also lessening its impact on the planet, a top concern particularly for the Greens. hide caption. The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag and formally appointed by the president of Germany. All Rights Reserved. In international correspondence, the chancellor is referred to as "His/Her Excellency the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany" ("Seine/Ihre Exzellenz der Bundeskanzler/die Bundeskanzlerin der Bundesrepublik Deutschland"). This was changed in the new constitution of 16 April 1871 to Reichskanzler. If the chancellor's term in office ends or if they resign, the Bundestag has to elect a new chancellor. For decades, he has held a wide range of posts: member of parliament, mayor of the port city of Hamburg, labor minister and finance minister in coalition governments under Merkel. Besides his executive duties, the constitution gave the chancellor only one function: presiding over the Bundesrat (Federal Council), the representative organ of the states (which together with the Reichstag was the Reich's lawmaking body). The only person to hold the office was Otto von Bismarck, the minister president of Prussia. [138] The Scholz government initially refused to send weapons to Ukraine, citing existing German financial support for the Eastern European country. [91] Former Chancellor Angela Merkel committed Germany to a nuclear power phase-out after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Claudia Roth, designated minister of state for culture, Anne Spiegel, designated family affairs minister, Robert Habeck, designated minister of economy, energy and climate protection, Annalena Baerbock, designated foreign minister, Cem Ozdemir, designated agriculture minister, and Steffi Lemke, designated environment minister, present themselves to the media on Monday in Berlin. "[162] On 16 June 2022, Scholz visited the Ukrainian Capital, Kyiv, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The four projects, announced in May 2022, are now in different stages of implementation: Unlike in other parliamentary legislatures, the Bundestag cannot remove the chancellor with a traditional motion of no confidence. [136][137], Scholz called the US "Europe's closest and most important partner". The parties have vowed to modernize Germany, which is Europe's largest economy, with a priority placed on the transformation into a greener, more digitalized economy, as well as infrastructure investment. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor under Angela Merkel and as Federal Minister of Finance from 2018 to 2021. Only in October 1918 was the constitution changed to require that the chancellor have the trust of parliament. He was appointed by the Bundesprsidium, (i.e. From 1982 to 1988, he was Deputy Federal Juso Chairman, and from 1987 to 1989 also Vice President of the International Union of Socialist Youth. The agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party, will see them govern together in a three-way coalition for the first time. [84] In September 2022, Scholz visited the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, seeking to deepen ties with the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and find alternative sources of energy. He replaces Angela Merkel who has led Germany for 16 years. We expect the new government to continue the gradual tilt towards more government spending on pensions and investment as well as a green transformation that has been the hallmark of the last eight years of Merkel's 16-year reign as chancellor," he said in a note Wednesday. Since late November 2021, he has expressed support for mandatory vaccination for adults, scheduled to be voted during the first months of 2022 by the federal parliament, and for the closure of non-essential retail stores to unvaccinated adults, based on the so-called 2G-Regel, decreed by state governments in December 2021. These three prince-archbishops were also prince-electors of the empire electing the King of the Romans. Scholz served in the Hamburg Government under First Mayor Ortwin Runde in 2001, before his election as General Secretary of the SPD in 2002, serving alongside SPD leader and then-Chancellor Gerhard Schrder. On 7 June 2011, Scholz attended the state dinner hosted by President Barack Obama in honor of Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House. Although effective government was possible only in cooperation with the Reichstag, the results of the elections had at most an indirect influence on the chancellorship. A chancellor's election is necessary whenever the office of Chancellor has fallen vacant. [121][122], The revised Climate Protection Act introduced by Olaf Scholz's cabinet as Mayor of Hamburg provides for a 65 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030, an 88 per cent reduction by 2040 and climate neutrality by 2045. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will arrive in Japan on the afternoon of the 28th and will stay until the 29th. [1], Holding the third-highest state office available within Germany, the chancellor of Germany receives 220,000 per annum and a 22,000 bonus, i.e. The current vice chancellor of Germany is Robert Habeck, who also serves as Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection in the Scholz cabinet. After only two months in office, and following the burning of the Reichstag building, the parliament passed the Enabling Act giving the chancellor full legislative powers for a period of four years the chancellor could introduce any law without consulting Parliament. One of the reasons he and his party prevailed in the federal election is that in Scholz, Germans see a continuation of Merkel's governing style: Scholz is a calm, steady hand in a crisis and a pragmatic leader who strives for compromise. The Indo-German Green Hydrogen Task Force was constituted in September 2022 and an Action Plan is close to finalisation. [157], In early April 2022 news of the Bucha massacre shocked public opinion in Europe. Scholz emerged from last week's meeting with outgoing Chancellor Merkel and the premiers of the 16 federal states with a new slate of COVID-19 guidelines rules that have suddenly made it far more difficult for the unvaccinated to maneuver through society. 28 February 2022 The Socialist Equality Party (Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei, SGP) and the World Socialist Web Site condemn the war offensive announced yesterday by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. [109] Journalist Hermann-Josef Tenhagen criticized this version of the transaction tax because the underlying idea of taxing the wealthy more heavily was in fact turned into the opposite. After speaking with European parliamentarians during his two-day official visit to Brussels, the floor was given to German MP Christine Anderson who called out the Canadian prime minister, saying he should not be able to speak in European Parliament. Mayntz, Renate. [56][57], At the G7 summit in June 2021, the G7 agreed on a worldwide minimum tax proposed by Scholz of at least 15 per cent for multinational companies. "In terms of numbers, the centre-left (SPD and Greens) is much stronger and the centre-right (FDP instead of CDU/CSU) much weaker in the new government than before. While his successors have tended to be less domineering, the chancellor has acquired enough ex officio authority (in addition to his/her constitutional powers) that Germany is often described by constitutional law experts as a "chancellor democracy". Another interesting fact about this new cabinet is that all the ministries in charge of national and international security and diplomacy are headed by women, some for the first time. Esken and Walter-Borjans were little-known to the public at large, Esken being a backbencher in the Bundestag and Walter-Borjans being the former Minister of Finance of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2010 to 2017. The constitution still called the chancellor Bundeskanzler. [159] Scholz rejected a plan made by Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to deliver 100 Marder Infantry fighting vehicles from German stocks to Ukraine. I was, day before yesterday, in a conference with the former prime minister of Ukraine, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who said what we are witnessing here is the best, the most successful peacekeeping operation, and that is to be together . Helms, Ludger. Scholz's center-left Social Democratic Party, which won the most. The rhetoric of the chancellor also began to change. When Goebbels also committed suicide, Dnitz appointed Count Schwerin von Krosigk as head of government with the title "Leading Minister". Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Roland Busch, Chairman of the Managing Board of Siemens AG, meet at the 17th Asia . Not recognised by any United Nations members. [52], In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, Scholz drafted a series of unprecedented rescue packages for the country's economy, including a 130 billion euro stimulus package in June 2020, which thanks to generous lifelines for businesses and freelancers, as well as a decision to keep factories open, avoided mass layoffs and weathered the crisis better than neighbours such as Italy and France. The state secretaries (Staatssekretre) were civil servants subordinate to the chancellor and similar to ministers. In the 1871 German Empire, the Reichskanzler ("Imperial Chancellor") served both as the emperor's first minister and as presiding officer of the Bundesrat, the upper chamber of the German parliament. It is data from millions of German taxpayers and contains information on assets hidden from the tax authorities in Dubai. However, the change could not prevent the outbreak of a revolution a few days later. The role of the chancellor has varied during the different eras. "Scholz" redirects here. As Chancellor, Scholz oversees Germany's response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. A former vice president of the International Union of Socialist Youth, Scholz was first elected to represent Hamburg-Altona in the Bundestag in 1998, aged 40. Here is today's Foreign Policy brief: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett holds . The constitution stipulated that the president appoint and dismiss the chancellor and ministers. Myriam Rivet and Michael Nienaber (10 June 2018), Potsdam Potsdam-Mittelmark II Teltow-Flming II, University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein, Commissioner of the Federal Republic of Germany for Cultural Affairs under the Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation, 2019 Social Democratic Party of Germany leadership election, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, https://www.bundesrat.de/SharedDocs/downloads/DE/plenarprotokolle/2001/Plenarprotokoll-764.pdf;jsessionid=065965D6B0FB687078C6F5FE9A19F6BD.1_cid339?__blob=publicationFile&v=2, https://www.bundesrat.de/SharedDocs/downloads/DE/plenarprotokolle/2001/Plenarprotokoll-769.pdf;jsessionid=065965D6B0FB687078C6F5FE9A19F6BD.1_cid339?__blob=publicationFile&v=2, "How Olaf Scholz and the SPD could lead Germany's next government", "He Convinced Voters He Would Be Like Merkel. [179], Scholz was raised in the mainstream Protestant Evangelical Church in Germany, but he later left it. "[167] However, it "could also be argued that Berlin's communication to affirm its Ukraine stance and explain its foreign policy goals had been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. Because Prussia controlled seventeen votes in the Bundesrat, Bismarck could effectively control the proceedings by making deals with the smaller states. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox. 2002 I p.3020)[12]. The main reason why all G7 member states were in favour was that Scholz was able to convince US President Joe Biden, unlike his predecessor Donald Trump, of the minimum taxation. Scholz greatly increased German spending on defense. As expected, Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, who was part of Angela Merkel's cabinet in her grand coalition, will keep his job. "Today, the traffic light is indispensable when it comes to regulating things clearly and providing the right orientation and ensuring that everyone moves forward safely and smoothly. [24], Scholz resigned from his Bundestag mandate on 10 March 2011, three days after he had been elected as First Mayor of Hamburg. [155] A few days later, he said Germany was working on ending the import of Russian energy. [7] Because of his consistent and mechanical-sounding choice of words in press conferences and interviews, Scholz was nicknamed as "the Scholzomat" by the media. Here are some of the keys to understanding the transition underway in this major European power. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is embarking on a high-stakes visit to China this week, becoming the first European Union leader to visit the Asian superpower since the onset of the COVID pandemic,. The chancellor alone had to answer to the Reichstag and the president for the policy guidelines, and he determined whether the conduct of business by the individual Reich ministries conformed to the guidelines. Scholz was sworn in alongside the rest of the Government on 14 March 2018, also taking the role of Vice Chancellor of Germany under Angela Merkel. According to the Basic Law, the chancellor may set the number of cabinet ministers and dictate their specific duties. [83] The decision was made to "no longer approve any export sales to countries as long as they are directly involved" in the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen. [87], On 22 February 2022, Scholz announced that Germany would be halting its approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in response to Russia's recognition of two self-declared separatist republics within Ukraine. On 9 May 2022, Scholz said that Russians and Ukrainians once fought together during World War II against Nazi Germany's "murderous National Socialist regime," but now "Putin wants to overthrow Ukraine and destroy its culture and identity [and] even regards his barbaric war of aggression as being on a par with the fight against National Socialism. [9] In it, Scholz criticized the "aggressive-imperialist NATO", the Federal Republic as the "European stronghold of big business" and the social-liberal coalition, which puts the "bare maintenance of power above any form of substantive dispute". [12] Scholz served on the Committee for Labor and Social Matters. The Prime Minister will also meet with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, where they will announce the . Hitler used the Enabling Act to merge the office of chancellor with that of the president to create a new office, "the leader" (or Fhrer). On 10 August 2020, the SPD party executive agreed that it would nominate Scholz to be the party's candidate for Chancellor of Germany at the 2021 federal election. The Greens' Annalena Baerbock will be foreign minister, while Social Democrats Nancy Faeser and Christine Lambrecht will be interior minister and defense minister respectively. [66][67][68] In August Scholz announced that he wanted to run for party chairmanship in a duo with Klara Geywitz. Scheel not taken into account, three persons, Ludwig Erhard, Willy Brandt and Olaf Scholz, have held both the office of Vice Chancellor and that of Chancellor of Germany. With his proposals for reforming the party, he was widely interpreted to position himself as a potential challenger or successor to Schulz within the SPD. The incoming government's vision for Germany includes plans to legalize cannabis and ease naturalization and dual citizenship rules. Yet Scholz named him anyway a sign that the incoming chancellor wants an outspoken leader to be managing this pandemic, not someone who would be seen as a politically safe choice.