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The Week in Germany: Politics October 21, 2005 Schroeder gov't "led Germany into new millennium": President Germany Tuesday marked the end of a political era as President Horst Koehler officially dismissed outgoing chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his center-left government of Social Democrats and Greens as a newly elected parliament convened its first meeting.
Schroeder and his team, who will continue to govern in a caretaker capacity until a new administration is in place, "led the Federal Republic of Germany into the new millennium," Koehler said at a ceremony in his Berlin residence. Schroeder's seven years in office were marked by significant developments in German foreign policy, with the country "actively making an important contribution to peace and freedom in the world," said Koehler. In particular, Koehler mentioned Schroeder's decision to send German soldiers into combat for the first time since World War II as part of the NATO mission to Kosovo in 1999 — a move which set the stage for later peacekeeping deployments in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The introduction of the euro common currency and the eastward expansion of the European Union "brought together" and "strengthened" Europe, Koehler said. At home, too, there were significant developments, including Schroeder's "Agenda 2010" program of economic reforms aimed at making the German economy leaner and more competitive. "Developing and implementing the 'Agenda 2010' in the face of great resistance required political courage and a lot of hard work," said Koehler, who was appointed with the support of Schroeder's Christian Democrat rivals. "As you know, I always supported this reform course, which serves Germany's interests." Koehler urged the next government — a left-right grand coalition of Schroeder's center-left Social Democrats and the center-right Christian Democrats — to "continue the initiated reforms with consistency, coherence and calculability." Even with talks aimed at finalizing the power-sharing line-up expected to continue for several weeks, Germany's new parliament convened its first sitting on Tuesday. Lawmakers elected Norbert Lammert, a veteran Christian Democrat, to replace Social Democrat Wolfgang Thierse as their body's president, or speaker — a prestigious, if largely ceremonial, position. They also heard the traditional speech by the chamber's oldest member. This year, that honor fell to outgoing Interior Minister Otto Schily, 73, who urged members of parliament to "stop trying to score political points" and pull together for the good of the country. Links:
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