Scholz was elected as chancellor by the
Bundestag on 8 December 2021, with 395 votes in favour and 303 against. His
new government was appointed on the same day by President
Frank-Walter Steinmeier. At of age, Scholz is the oldest person to become chancellor since
Konrad Adenauer, who was old when he assumed office on 15 September 1949.
Foreign policy in
Brasília,
Brazil on 30 January 2023 in
New Delhi,
India on 25 February 2023 in
Tel Aviv, 17 October 2023 ,
Giorgia Meloni,
Rishi Sunak and other leaders at the
50th G7 summit in
Italy, 13 June 2024 In December 2021, Scholz travelled to Warsaw for talks with Polish prime minister
Mateusz Morawiecki, where they discussed the
Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which would bring Russian gas under the
Baltic Sea to Germany and bypass
Poland, and Poland's
dispute with the European Union over the
primacy of
EU law. Scholz backed Poland's efforts to stop the flow of
migrants seeking entry from Belarus. Scholz extended into 2022 the suspension of the sale of weapons to
Saudi Arabia. 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. 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. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman received Scholz in
Jeddah. Scholz's government approved new arms export deals to Saudi Arabia, despite a ban imposed as a result of the Saudi war in
Yemen and the assassination of Saudi journalist
Jamal Khashoggi. Scholz called the
United States "Europe's closest and most important partner". 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." 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. Scholz spoke against allowing the
European Union to cut Russia off from the
SWIFT global interbank
payment system. In an emergency meeting of the
Bundestag on 27 February, Scholz made the
Zeitenwende speech, announcing a complete reversal of German military and foreign policy, including the commencement of weapons shipments to Ukraine and a billion increase in Germany's
defense budget. Scholz succeeded in obtaining the two-thirds majority necessary to
amend the debt ceiling to allow Germany to establish a 100 billion euro defense fund that would not be subject to the restrictions. One reporter called it a path to "an emergency military modernization, defence spending, energy independence from
Russia, lethal assistance for
Ukraine and
EU financing for weaponry". However, in a press conference on 19 April, Scholz spoke about slowing Germany's provision of weaponry to Ukraine, which was seen as reducing the scale of the policy change. In June 2022, Scholz said that his government remains committed to phasing out
nuclear power despite
rising energy prices and Germany's dependence on
energy imports from Russia. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel committed Germany to a
nuclear power phase-out after the
Fukushima nuclear disaster. In August 2022, Scholz expressed disagreement with the words of Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas, who compared Israel's
treatment of Palestinians to "apartheid" in South Africa. Energy-intensive
German industry and
German exporters were hit particularly hard by the
2021–present global energy crisis. Scholz said: "of course we knew, and we know, that our solidarity with Ukraine will have consequences." On 29 September 2022, Germany presented a plan to support industry and households. In November 2022, Scholz expressed support for the
European Green Deal and reaffirmed Germany's goal of attaining
climate neutrality, or net-zero
greenhouse gas emissions, by 2045. On 14 March 2023, Scholz met with
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in
Berlin. They discussed the
export of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Germany and the European Union. Scholz said that "
Azerbaijan is becoming an increasingly important partner for both Germany and the European Union" and stated that Germany does not recognize the Armenian separatist region of
Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent republic. In early May 2023, Scholz met with Ethiopian Prime Minister
Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa to normalize relations between Germany and
Ethiopia, which had been strained by the
Tigray War between the Ethiopian government and rebels in
Tigray. In May 2023, Scholz called on all parties involved to resolve the
Cyprus dispute, which escalated after the
Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and the subsequent unrecognized occupation of the northern part of the island. He indicated that his preferred solution would be a bizonal federation. Scholz condemned
Hamas' actions during the
Gaza war, expressed his support for
Israel, and began supporting the nation with
military and medical aid. He criticized the
Palestinian Authority and Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas, saying that "their silence is shameful." On 17 October 2023, Scholz arrived in Israel and on the same day warned
Iran and
Hezbollah not to get involved in the war between Israel and
Hamas. He said that "Germany and Israel are united by the fact that they are democratic constitutional states. Our actions are based on law and order, even in extreme situations." On 12 November 2023, Scholz rejected calls for "an immediate ceasefire or long pause" in Israel's war against Hamas in
Gaza, saying it would "mean ultimately that Israel leaves Hamas the possibility of recovering and obtaining new missiles". Speaking at the
COP28 climate summit in
Dubai in December 2023, Scholz called for a
phase-out of fossil fuels, including
coal,
oil and
natural gas, and reiterated Germany's commitment to be climate neutral by 2045, saying, "The technologies are there: wind power, photovoltaics, electric motors, green hydrogen." In March 2024, Scholz confronted EU foreign policy chief
Josep Borrell over his months-long criticism of
Israel, saying Borrell did not speak for Germany. On 28 May 2024, Scholz said that his government has no plans to officially recognise a
Palestinian state. In May 2024, Scholz criticized planned
EU tariffs on imports of Chinese
electric vehicles, saying, "I would like to point out that currently 50% of electric vehicle imports from China in fact come from Western brands that produce vehicles there." In June 2024, Scholz praised
Volkswagen AG's move to develop cheaper
electric cars for the European market. In June 2024, Scholz welcomed
Argentine President Javier Milei in Berlin. Scholz and Milei expressed support for the
EU–Mercosur free trade agreement. Scholz criticized the European Union's trade policy and called on Brussels to speed up negotiations on
free trade agreements.
Relationship with Poland in 2021 In December 2021, Scholz rejected the Polish government's claim for further
World War II reparations. As a consequence of
Nazi German and
Soviet Union aggression in
World War II,
Poland lost about a fifth of its population and much of its industry and infrastructure was destroyed. As a compensation Poland was awarded large parts of eastern Germany at the
Potsdam Conference in 1945, with Germany finally renouncing its claims to these territoriesincluding
East Prussia, most of
Silesia, as well as the eastern parts of
Brandenburg and
Pomerania – in the
Two Plus Four Agreement in 1990. According to the German government, there is no legal basis for further compensation payments. In a meeting with Polish Prime Minister
Mateusz Morawiecki, Scholz said "We have concluded treaties that are valid and have settled the past issues and the compensation". The Scholz government initially refused to send weapons to
Ukraine, citing existing German policy and financial support for the Eastern European country. As late as 15 February, Scholz was quoted by
TASS as saying "the way out of the crisis in Ukraine is to implement the
Steinmeier formula", a mechanism of granting a special status to the Donbas. On 26 February, following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Scholz reversed his decision and pledged a supply of
anti-tank weapons and
Stinger missiles to Ukraine. Before the 24 February
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Scholz rejected Ukraine's demands for weapons deliveries on 6 February, saying Germany "has for many years taken the clear stance that we do not deliver to crisis regions". The Russian invasion drastically changed German policy with regard to defense spending, aiding Ukraine and the nation's energy security. Scholz greatly increased
German defense expenditure. Three days after the invasion started, he announced in the
Zeitenwende speech the creation of a one-off fund for the
Bundeswehr. This represented a major shift in German foreign policy, as Germany had long refused to meet the required spending of 2% of its GDP on defense, as is required by NATO. In addition to increasing defense spending for his own country, in an address to Germany's parliament on 23 March, Scholz emphasized support for aiding Ukraine in its resistance to Russian invasion. With regard to supporting Ukraine and taking action against Russia, Scholz was trailing behind others. On 26 February 2022, he was the last of several EU leaders to continue opposition against kicking Russia out of the
SWIFT international payment system. However, Germany did send some effective weapons to Ukraine. By 17 March about 2,000 portable missile weapons against tanks and aircraft had been sent. In his 23 March speech, Scholz claimed that Germany would "try everything we can until peace prevails again on our continent" including taking hundreds of thousands of
Ukrainian refugees across German borders. Economy minister Habeck then visited Norway and on 19 March
Qatar, one of the world's largest exporters of
liquefied natural gas. Here he signed a long-term agreement about importing Qatari gas. Amid pressure to prohibit Russian gas imports across Europe, Scholz still refused to end
German imports of Russian gas in the first days of April. A few days later, he said Germany was working on ending the import of Russian energy. He opposed a reversal of Germany's scheduled end to
nuclear power, saying the technical challenges were too great. In early April 2022 news of the
Bucha massacre shocked public opinion in Europe. On 6 April
Guy Verhofstadt got a lot of attention with a passionate speech about Ukraine before the European parliament. He ended it by accusing the German government of "dragging its feet" with regard to taking action against Russia. That same month, Germany policy changed and the chancellor avowed that Germany would provide Ukraine with more than to spend on military resources. 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. From May 2022, the aid to Ukraine became increasingly significant. The rhetoric of the chancellor also began to change. 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. That is a falsification of history and a disgraceful distortion." On 16 June 2022, Scholz visited the Ukrainian Capital,
Kyiv, alongside French President
Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister
Mario Draghi to meet President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy. They talked about various issues such as the
war in Ukraine and
Ukraine's membership into the EU. This comes as a reverse of his previous stance to not visit Ukraine, after Zelensky rebuked the German President,
Frank-Walter Steinmeier over his contribution to stronger Moscow-Berlin ties. 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 verdict was that, "based on these statistics, Berlin had ultimately positioned itself as a reliable partner of Ukraine." In May 2024, Scholz gave Ukraine permission to
strike targets inside Russia with German-supplied weapons. In July 2024, Russian President
Vladimir Putin warned of a
Cold War-style missile crisis and threatened to deploy
long-range missiles within striking distance of the West after the United States announced its intention to deploy long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026 that could hit Russian territory within 10 minutes. US weapons in Germany would include
SM-6 and
Tomahawk cruise missiles and developmental
hypersonic weapons. Scholz supported the decision to place US long-range missiles in Germany, but his government's move was criticized by the political opposition as well as within Scholz's coalition. Critics say the move would trigger a new
arms race. Biden and Scholz's plan to deploy long-range missiles in Germany has been compared to the deployment of
Pershing II launchers in Western Europe in 1979.
Domestic policy On 6 November 2024, Scholz removed Finance Minister
Christian Lindner from his position, citing loss of trust. Lindner's removal led to the collapse of the
governing coalition. In December 2024, Scholz criticized
Volkswagen's plan to close factories in Germany. He proposed a European
subsidy programme for electric vehicles. He also pledged support for the German steel industry, which was facing high
energy costs. In September 2024, pollster
Infratest dimap found that Scholz's approval rating was 18%, one of the lowest ever recorded by a German chancellor.
COVID-19 vaccine mandate During his campaign in the 2021 election, Scholz opposed a
COVID-19 vaccine mandate. 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
2G-Regel, decreed by state governments in December 2021. On 13 January 2022, Scholz told lawmakers in the
Bundestag that Germany should make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for all adults. Later that month, he warned that the
COVID-19 pandemic would not "miraculously" disappear and that compulsory vaccinations were necessary. The opposition
Christian Democratic Union criticized the government for not taking a firm decision on a
vaccine mandate. The far-right
Alternative for Germany party wanted Scholz's government to ban vaccine mandates.
Immigration policy In December 2021, Scholz said that Germany was a country of immigration and pledged to reduce barriers to
immigration to Germany and make it easier for immigrants to obtain German citizenship. 352,000 people applied for asylum in Germany in 2023, the highest number since 2016, when 722,370 people applied for asylum. People from Ukraine are not included among asylum seekers. Most asylum seekers in 2023 were from
Turkey,
Syria and
Afghanistan. In September 2023, more than 120 boats carrying approximately 7,000 migrants from Africa arrived on the island of
Lampedusa within 24 hours. Some of the migrants were relocated to Germany. In 2023, 1,933,000 people immigrated to
Germany, including 276,000 from
Ukraine and 126,000 from
Turkey, while 1,270,000 people emigrated. Net immigration to Germany was 663,000 in 2023, down from a record 1,462,000 in 2022. In 2022, Scholz stated that Russian deserters and draft evaders who refused to take part in the Russian invasion of Ukraine should be protected in Germany. However, in 2024, German authorities ordered the deportation of Russian nationals who wanted to avoid
mobilization and criticized Putin's government on the grounds that they would not face
persecution in Russia. On 11 September 2024, he declared that Germany must remain open to immigration to maintain economic growth, and also said that Germany would offer protection to those who are politically persecuted, telling opposition political parties that the issue is non-negotiable. In August 2024, in response to a
deadly attack in Solingen by a
Syrian asylum seeker, Scholz has called for stricter immigration measures and expedited deportations. The incident has reignited debates over migration policies in Germany ahead of upcoming regional elections. Scholz supports
replacement migration to combat the decline and aging of Germany's population. He said that Germany would have to accept 288,000 foreign workers every year. On 14 September 2024, Scholz and Kenyan President
William Ruto signed an agreement that opened the German labour market to up to 250,000 skilled and semi-skilled
migrant workers from
Kenya. There are concerns about
brain drain in Kenya, as professionals such as doctors and nurses could leave for better-paying jobs in Germany. Scholz's government has already signed migration partnerships with several other countries, including
Morocco,
Uzbekistan and
Nigeria. Scholz and Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi agreed that Germany would accept 90,000 skilled workers from
India each year.
Rearmament of Germany During negotiations on the next German cabinet, Scholz and the presumptive German Chancellor
Friedrich Merz reached an agreement to reform the
debt brake by changing sections of the
Basic Law to exempt defense spending exceeding 1% of GDP. Scholz also agreed to create a special fund of €500 billion for "investments in infrastructure and for additional investments to achieve climate neutrality by 2045". In March 2025, German lawmakers approved an
amendment to the Basic Law, allowing the German government to implement the most massive rearmament of Germany since
World War II. The spending package was approved before the
21st Bundestag was constituted on 25 March 2025, where
The Left and
AfD would have the ability to block it. A two-thirds majority was required to change the German constitution. The plan was supported by the SPD, CDU, and the Greens.
SPD chancellor candidate (2025) In November 2024, various SPD legislators and leading figures – most prominently former party leader
Sigmar Gabriel – began publicly calling for
defence minister Boris Pistorius to be designated the party's chancellor candidate owing to its and Scholz's poor polling. Polling for
ARD showed Pistorius as the most favourably viewed national politician: 60% of voters thought he would be a good chancellor, compared to 42% for Merz and 21% for Scholz. In a video released on 21 November 2024, Pistorius ended what had become two weeks of public debate by disavowing any interest in running for chancellor and expressing his full support for Scholz. Such a protracted and public debate, and party leadership's apparent inability to quickly control or restrain it, was seen as embarrassing and damaging;
Jusos president
Philipp Türmer directly called out party leaders
Saskia Esken and
Lars Klingbeil for the "shitshow" at their national congress the following weekend. Nonetheless, Scholz was unanimously renominated as chancellor candidate by the party's executive, a group which includes Pistorius, on 25 November 2024. Scholz's nomination was confirmed at a party congress on 11 January 2025; as is usual for sitting chancellors, the vote was by
acclamation rather than secret ballot and he received little opposition. On 16 December 2024, Scholz lost a
vote of confidence in the Bundestag, paving the way for
elections to be held on 23 February 2025. Exit polls showed that the SPD fell to third place and fell below 20% for the first time since
1933, while also achieving its worst result in terms of vote share since the
1887 federal election, held in the
German Empire. After the first exit polls were published, Scholz announced he would not seek to be part of a government led by
Friedrich Merz. As a result, Co-party leader Lars Klingbeil also became parliamentary group leader of the SPD, while Co-party leader
Saskia Esken is currently still in this office. Scholz was elected to the
21st Bundestag by winning his constituency through the
first vote in the 2025 German federal election. He has said that he intends to take up his mandate. ==Political views==