| |
|
|
|
|
|
||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
Chancellor Gains Support for Early Elections Bid
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder gained support for his bid to hold early parliamentary elections when the Bundestag held a vote of confidence on July 1. It was necessary for the Chancellor to lose the vote of confidence in order for him to be able to ask Federal President Horst Köhler to dissolve the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, and clear the way for early elections in the fall. The vote broke down as follows: out of 595 votes, 151 ‘yes’ votes, 296 ‘no’, and 148 abstentions. Before the vote, Chancellor Schröder and his ministers who vote in the Bundestag had said they would all abstain, and the SPD parliamentary group was urged to do likewise. A majority of the Greens had indicated they would vote ‘yes.’ The opposition CDU/CSU and FDP parliamentary groups said they would vote against the vote of confidence. Asking for the vote of confidence was a bid of fairness and sincerity towards the citizens, toward his party, towards the coalition partners, toward the upper house, as well as towards himself, Chancellor Schröder said during his 30-minute speech explaining the motion. His party’s bitter defeat in the May 22 elections in North Rhine-Westphalia was the final link in a series of painful defeats across Germany, Schröder said. It thus became clear that without a new legitimization by the German people, he would not be able to advance his policies, namely the comprehensive reforms of Agenda 2010, he said. The SPD/Green coalition holds a small majority in the Bundestag, while the opposition holds a majority in the Bundesrat.
"I am acting in the certainty that the policy of reforms that I have begun is right and necessary –for our country and for its people,” Chancellor Schröder said. “Therefore I will endeavor with all my strength to have the voters charge me with continuing what has been started.” Opposition chief Angela Merkel spoke of respect for the Chancellor’s decision. Seeking new elections was a necessary step after months of controversy and the ruling coalition’s lack of the ability to act. The CDU/CSU and Free Democrats (FDP) were ready to take on the task of governing, she said. In a survey conducted in the days before the vote of confidence, Chancellor Schröder led in popularity by 40 % to 36 % over CDU/CSU candidate Angela Merkel.
Federal President’s Decision Federal President Köhler said in a statement that the questions that need to be verified in order for him to make a decision are complex, so he plans to make full use of the deadline set forth in the Basic Law – 21 days. If Köhler agrees to dissolve the Bundestag, new elections would have to be held within 60 days of that decision, according to Article 39 of the Basic Law. So if Köhler decides for dissolution by July 22, new elections would be held by September 20, 2005. A number of parliamentarians are skeptical of the justification for early elections and have indicated they would oppose a move to hold early elections by filing an appeal with the Federal Constitutional Court. History German chancellors have asked for a vote of confidence four times in the past. In the most recent case, Chancellor Schröder tied a vote of confidence to the decision to send German troops to Afghanistan in 2001. In 1982, Helmut Schmidt (SPD) won a vote of confidence, but later that year Helmut Kohl (CDU) used first a constructive vote of no confidence to oust Schmidt, and then moved for a vote of confidence in order to bring about early elections to solidify his position as chancellor. The first chancellor to use the vote of confidence to bring about early elections was Willy Brandt in 1972. July 1, 2005 Links
|
|
 Newsletters
 Printer-Friendly
Page
Email This Article |
||
|
|||||
|
|||||
