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Germany bids farewell to political heavyweight Wolfgang Schäuble

Wolfgang Schäuble,  a leading figure in German politics for decades and an icon of budgetary rigour in the eurozone, was laid to rest Friday after dying at the age of 81.

Published: 5 January 2024 17:13 CET
After the funeral service for Wolfgang Schäuble, soldiers accompany the coffin on the way to the cemetery.
After the funeral service for Wolfgang Schäuble, soldiers accompany the coffin on the way to the cemetery. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa/Pool | Philipp von Ditfurth

He was a minister under chancellors Helmut Kohl and Angela Merkel and played a key role in German reunification in 1990.

Schäuble died on December 26th after a long battle with illness.

The funeral service was held in a church in his home city of Offenburg in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg.

During the ceremony, regional prime minister Winfried Kretschmann called Schaeuble a “passionate democrat” and “a convinced European”.

Prominent members of Schäuble’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party attended the service, including CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who in his eulogy described the late politician as a “role model” who “had written history”.

Former chancellor Merkel did not attend but was to join a state tribute for Schaeuble in Berlin on January 22, her spokeswoman said.

‘Pitliless’ budget guardian

As finance minister for eight years under Merkel, Schäuble carved out a reputation as the guardian of German budgetary discipline, particularly during the Greek debt crisis.

Describing himself as “pitiless” in his management of Germany’s public purse, he showed the same exactitude towards his euro partners, insisting on stringent conditions for any bailout contribution by Berlin.

Veteran CDU politician Wolfgang Schäuble - considered one of the most important figures in German reunification - died peacefully in December.

Veteran CDU politician Wolfgang Schäuble – considered one of the most important figures in German reunification – died peacefully in December. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Marijan Murat

His harsh stance made him unpopular with many Greeks in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the ensuing eurozone debt crisis.

Born in Freiburg in 1942, Schäuble was the longest-serving member of the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, where he had sat since 1972.

It was under former conservative leader Kohl that the pro-European Schäuble forged his career, rising through the ranks to eventually become the chancellor’s chief of staff.

Together they oversaw Germany’s national reunification, before personal tragedy struck – an assassination attempt by a deranged man in 1990 left him badly injured and forced him to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

After a slush-fund scandal shattered Kohl’s reputation in the 1990s, Schäuble spent a period in the political wilderness before making a comeback in the early 2000s.

Although Merkel refused to back him for the role of federal president, He became her interior minister in 2005 and finance minister in 2009.

Schäuble subsequently served as president of the Bundestag from 2017 until 2021, and remained a member of parliament up until his death.

He is survived by his wife and their four children.

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POLITICS

ANALYSIS: What’s at stake in Germany’s eastern state elections?

After success in Thuringia and Saxony, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) may well come in first in another eastern state election this Sunday. We spoke with a political scientist to analyse what's at stake as Brandenburg goes to the polls.

Published: 19 September 2024 09:11 CEST
ANALYSIS: What's at stake in Germany's eastern state elections?

German politics’ “eastern September” is set to finally end Sunday – with more ruminations and reflections likely to come about the recent fortunes of the far-right AfD at the ballot box.

If current polls are anything to go by, the AfD could come in first in the eastern state encircling Berlin – which counts Potsdam as its capital.

After overtaking the governing Social Democrats (SPD) in a recent shock poll, the party is currently at around 28 percent, compared to the SPD on 25 percent. The centre-right Christian Democrats come in at 16 percent in the latest poll and the left-populist Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) – named after its founder – charts in at 14 percent.

The remaining parties come in much lower – with the Greens, Left and liberal Free Democrats all facing possible ejection from the state parliament.

Another victory for the AfD – or even a strong showing should the SPD still manage a narrow surprise win – will certainly boost the far-right’s confidence, after it came in first in Thuringia and second in Saxony earlier this month, following state elections that saw all three of Germany’s federally governing parties take massive losses.

Thuringia and Saxony results will likely hang over Brandenburg on Sunday – with Germany’s governing parties, many everyday Germans, and foreigners all watching with some trepidation. Here’s what to watch out for following the Brandenburg result.

READ ALSO: ‘Political earthquake’ – What the far-right AfD state election win means for Germany 

A newly confident AfD insists it must be part of government

The AfD has repeatedly argued that it must be considered as a possible coalition partner to join German governments – whether at the federal, state, or local level. 

“There are no politics without the AfD,” its co-leader Tino Chrupalla said following the Thuringia results. However, all other parties have explicitly refused to work with the AfD to form a governing coalition – meaning that as high as its results this month have been, they fall well short of the absolute majority that would be required to govern alone.

READ ALSO: ‘We need change’: Germany’s far-right eyes power after state election win

However, its getting more difficult to form coalitions to keep the AfD out, with the centre-right CDU in Thuringia even open to governing with the leftwing populist BSW after mainstream parties like the Greens and FDP were thrown out of state parliament entirely.

University of Mainz political scientist Kai Arzheimer, who specialises in the German far-right, says whether the far-right ever get into a German government or not depends mostly on whether – and how – the CDU is willing to work with the AfD.

Thuringia election results on a screen

People watch the first exit polls results for Thuringia’s state elections come in at the State Parliament in Erfurt on September 1st, 2024. Photo by Joerg CARSTENSEN / AFP

“For the time being, it should be able to form coalitions against the AfD, even if they are rather awkward,” says Arzheimer, who adds that even the different regional chapters of the CDU may have different opinions about working with the AfD.

“Within the eastern state parties of both the CDU and the FDP, there seems to be some appetite for coming to an arrangement with the AfD. While a formal coalition would probably split either party, we have already seen some tentative moves towards an informal cooperation.”

Ultimately, the Brandmauer or “firewall” concept in German politics – in which all other parties refuse to work with the AfD – may end up coming under increasing stress on the back of eastern state election results, where governing with the far-right no longer becomes unthinkable.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Could the far-right AfD ever take power in Germany?

What the mainstream parties take from eastern election results

It’s probably no coincidence that Germany’s ruling government decided to re-institute border controls at its land borders with other EU states shortly after the AfD topped the Thuringia state poll, according to Arzheimer, who says the elections are just the latest in a number of things at work when if comes to Germany’s migration debate.

“The border controls, the plans for the stricter enforcement of repatriation orders, and most of all the government’s harsher rhetoric are as much a reaction to Saxony and Thuringia as they are an attempt to control the fallout from the Solingen knife attack and a response to the whole ‘debate’ on immigration,” he says.

“Many experts seem to agree that they are neither practical nor that useful, and introducing them more or less overnight smacks of a degree of panic.”

READ ALSO: Should foreign residents in Germany be concerned about far-right AfD win?

Polls conducted following the election found that migration and internal security issues were big drivers of the AfD vote – despite these being issues for the national, rather than regional, government. 

Of the AfD voters in Thuringia, more than 70 percent said either migration or crime and internal security played the largest role in influencing their vote. Slightly less than ten percent said social security. Despite the AfD’s pro-Russian views, only three percent of AfD voters in Thuringia said Germany’s support of Ukraine decisively influenced their votes.

Besides the mainstream parties like the SPD reacting with spur-of-the-moment migration policies, the Brandenburg result may end up putting pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz from within his own SPD.

Brandenburg SPD’s Dietmar Woidke may still be able to hold onto the premiership, but he has said he will resign if he doesn’t beat the AfD outright. Should he lose, calls may grow louder within the SPD for Scholz to resign himself – or at least declare that he won’t stand as a chancellor candidate again.

READ ALSO: How an explosive row over immigration has divided Germany

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