German politicians are talking tough, but offering little
Sparks fly as the election campaign kicks off—but the parties are scaling back their ambitions
ONE WEEK ago the leaders of Germany’s mainstream parties solemnly pledged to wage a fair-minded campaign in the run-up to the election due on February 23rd, triggered by last month’s premature collapse of the three-party coalition. Days later, they were tearing each other to shreds. Olaf Scholz, the chancellor and candidate for the Social Democrats (spd), said his opponents lacked “moral maturity”. Deploying the demotic of his home town of Hamburg, he dismissed Friedrich Merz, his rival from the conservative Christian Democrats (cdu), as “Fritze, who likes to talk Tünkram [nonsense]”.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Fiery talk, low ambition”
From the December 21st 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Europe
Jean-Marie Le Pen revived extremist politics in France
The far-right provocateur has died, aged 96
Why Canada should join the EU
Europe needs space and resources, Canada needs people. Let’s deal
Elon Musk’s praise for the far right infuriates most of Germany
A controversial op-ed may have set the terms of the election campaign
Serbia and its neighbours are still far from joining the EU
Donald Trump could bring the region yet more upheaval
Finland seizes a tanker, getting tough on hybrid warfare
Russian-linked attacks on undersea infrastructure are rising
A Prague-Berlin train loses its old-world dining cars
The looming end of the Knödelexpress