The German government hit a wall when Free Democrats quit the three-party team-up (a move that came right after Trumps win in USA). Chancellor Olaf Scholz coalition – which included his Social Democrats‚ Greens and pro-business Free Democrats – couldnt keep it together due to money fights
Their work since 11/2021 wasnt great: the group promised big changes after Angela Merkel left but ended up fighting about everything from helping Ukraine to dealing with China. They said theyd make Germany less dependent on Russian gas but didnt do much about it
When it comes to Ukraine help‚ Germanyʼs record is mixed-up: they give lots of weapons and money (second only to USA) but Scholz keeps saying no to sending Taurus missiles – even though other countries sent similar stuff. The 2025 money plan cuts Ukraine help which doesnt look good
- Defense spending hit NATOʼs 2% target this year
- Special money pot will be empty by 27
- No real plan for military costs after that
- Talk about bringing back army sign-ups went nowhere
The way they handled EU stuff was pretty bad too; they started checking borders without telling anyone (because they got scared of right-wing voters) and kept sitting out important votes because they couldnt agree on anything
Now its looking like Friedrich Merz and his Christian Democrats might team up with Social Democrats after elections in spring – just like in old times. Merz seems more ready to help Ukraine; he even told Putin to stop hitting cities or Germany would send those missiles
The new bunch might fix some money rules that were blocking defense spending and Ukraine support. With Trump heading back to White House and war still going on Europe needs Germany to step-up its game