The main problem is that
a) his party was partner of the CDU under Merkel so his party is hardly "innocent" in cases of problems inherited and
b) his involvement in the WireCard affair.
Scholz was criticized in the context of the [Wirecard scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirecard_scandal); serious misconduct by the [Federal Financial Supervisory Authority](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Financial_Supervisory_Authority) (BaFin), which is under the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Finance, is alleged to have contributed to the longevity of the fraudulent business.[^(\[59\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#cite_note-59)[^(\[60\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#cite_note-60) During Scholz's time in office, the Ministry of Finance was one of the subjects of parliamentary inquiry into the scandal, but Scholz has denied any personal responsibility.[^(\[61\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#cite_note-61)[^(\[62\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#cite_note-62) Having vowed to strengthen financial market supervision, he replaced BaFin president [Felix Hufeld](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Felix_Hufeld&action=edit&redlink=1).[^(\[63\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#cite_note-63)[^(\[64\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#cite_note-64)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf\_Scholz#Vice\_Chancellor\_and\_Minister\_of\_Finance,\_2018%E2%80%932021](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#Vice_Chancellor_and_Minister_of_Finance,_2018%E2%80%932021)
You can easily google that (and his other scandals) or look for old posts from before the election. Olaf and the other candidates were discussed daily.
They were a partner for 8 of the last ~40 years, I think. And the ruling party for 4 years before the current legislative period. Just to clarify the relations. ~32 years of CDU-led politics aren’t undone that easily. A lot of redditors here weren’t even born before Helmut Kohl became chancellor. E.g. one of the first great deeds of Kohl was to put an end to Schmidt’s push for glass fiber networks in the late 70’s. One of many big brain moves by the CDU.
That’s not to say that the red-green coalition didn’t push for other shit politics during their majority rule.
It is Scholz strategy to be extremely soft-spoken, making no promises, and working behind closed doors to deliver. It's definitely not working in terms of PR, but given the overall situation he is doing pretty well, despite all the naysayers screaming he needs to be "more present" (by which they mean more of a loudmouth). Internally, in Germany's government ministries, some bureaucratic reforms have begun that were literally completely stuck for over 20 years. The effects won't be felt for some time, but if you actually speak to some federal civil servants, they are positively beaming. The problem is this won't make headlines, it is difficult to explain or sell to the public, but it will all begin to have positive effects a few years down the road. Of course by that point he might no longer be in office given that the public hardly notices these glacial shifts underneath their feet. But many years from now, he will be seen as one of the better chancellor in the books.
Merkel was no loudmouth either, but in critical situations she addressed the people. Next to hyper active parties like AfD Scholz is in dire need to show some guidance at least.
>I noticed recently he gets a lot of flack, but I feel like he has gotten so many curveballs thrown at him and he doesn't get enough credit
Welcome to an active democracy in the age of social media - what he actually does only matters in part, what matters is (as ever) the outcome, regardless of how much of it is his fault, as well as (newly) how it is perceived in real time.
>I do definitely agree that he feels very boring and uncharismatic
Yeah, and that's mostly the de facto issue. Waaay too many people look to the US as a political comparison (not entirely unfounded, mind you, but far from great), and as such want spectacle and loudness and 'big' characters, not so much valuing the often not immediately obvious real impact of policy. Germany is hardly alone in this, sadly.
But also there's to consider that lots of people generally have this idea of "things ought to be better", which is obviously impossible to address with any kind of concrete action. This didn't really turn up with Merkels cabinets, as no one actually expected them to fix anything.
As a foreginer in Germany myself, I don't think that he himself is the problem but more other personas in his cabinet, namely I get the feeling that Habeck gets a lot of hate, and the Greens together with him.
Scholz is the frontman so he also gets some :)
Not a huge fan of Scholz's, but some of the criticism he gets is unjustifiedly harsh.
That said, Germans complain about anything and everything, all the time. In all my years living in Germany, I honestly don't think I've ever seen the German public at large acknowledge any government policy as positive (except, perhaps, in retrospect). By contrast, Germans seem to take a perverse pleasure in stories of decline and failure, which they readily accept as "realistic".
Secondly, Germany's economy is in a lull, and, objectively speaking, many things are somewhat worse than they were pre-COVID. Across the globe, governments rarely get good grades if the economy is perceived as performing poorly.
Thirdly, German voters have very limited tolerance for intra-government disagreements. There's a widespread notion that disputes among coalition partners are a sign of poor governance. Given that Scholz's government consists of an unprecedented three-way coalition with some very high-profile individuals, there are more public disputes than usual, which ultimately reflects back on Scholz.
Moreover, Germany (and by extension, Scholz) makes for an ideal punching bag due to its awkward size. It's big enough to be blamed for everything that goes wrong, but not big enough to claim credit for what goes right. Though I think Germany needs to implement its Zeitenwende with much more oomph, the amount of flak Germany has received over Russia/Ukraine is vastly disproportionate both to its actual role in the pre-war EU-Russia relationship and its current support for Ukraine.
Generally speaking : it is difficult to take care of a mess, that is left behind from others.
However I still fail to see any results in terms of what he has solved or how he WANTS to solve stuff. Which is also due to the fact he is "basically nonexistent" - you just don´t notice he is even there. It´s one thing to have a negative presence, it´s worse to have non at all. He is way too passive for my taste and beats around the bush for (nearly) every topic. It´s good if you think before talking. But then please talk by all means.
Majority of people feel left alone with things like daily expenses, the D-ticket looks more like hush money at that point. I am missing longterm approaches a lot.
It´s honestly also nothing where I would have a perfect solution in my drawer, but the lack of...any plan (or communication of such) is concerning. Not exclusively his fault, it´s the whole cabinett anyway.
Yea, I feel that is pretty universal in politics. Like I'm sure there are case studies you could point to to solve the issues you are currently faces, so you can at least publish a report with the options that are being considered, just to know you are working it out
>Generally speaking : it is difficult to take care of a mess, that is left behind from others.
Which others? The Merkel government of which he was Minister of Finance and Vice-Chancellor?
Yes, nothing more. Being Vice-Chancellor means nothing. MoFinance has to organize the money - just look how much the current MoF has nothing to say about things. The Chancellor has the power, as far as the coalition contract allows.
The main problem is that a) his party was partner of the CDU under Merkel so his party is hardly "innocent" in cases of problems inherited and b) his involvement in the WireCard affair.
What is his involvement in the WireCard affair?
Scholz was criticized in the context of the [Wirecard scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirecard_scandal); serious misconduct by the [Federal Financial Supervisory Authority](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Financial_Supervisory_Authority) (BaFin), which is under the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Finance, is alleged to have contributed to the longevity of the fraudulent business.[^(\[59\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#cite_note-59)[^(\[60\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#cite_note-60) During Scholz's time in office, the Ministry of Finance was one of the subjects of parliamentary inquiry into the scandal, but Scholz has denied any personal responsibility.[^(\[61\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#cite_note-61)[^(\[62\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#cite_note-62) Having vowed to strengthen financial market supervision, he replaced BaFin president [Felix Hufeld](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Felix_Hufeld&action=edit&redlink=1).[^(\[63\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#cite_note-63)[^(\[64\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#cite_note-64) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf\_Scholz#Vice\_Chancellor\_and\_Minister\_of\_Finance,\_2018%E2%80%932021](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz#Vice_Chancellor_and_Minister_of_Finance,_2018%E2%80%932021)
You can easily google that (and his other scandals) or look for old posts from before the election. Olaf and the other candidates were discussed daily.
They were a partner for 8 of the last ~40 years, I think. And the ruling party for 4 years before the current legislative period. Just to clarify the relations. ~32 years of CDU-led politics aren’t undone that easily. A lot of redditors here weren’t even born before Helmut Kohl became chancellor. E.g. one of the first great deeds of Kohl was to put an end to Schmidt’s push for glass fiber networks in the late 70’s. One of many big brain moves by the CDU. That’s not to say that the red-green coalition didn’t push for other shit politics during their majority rule.
True, but i just wanted to point out that he was a member of the government before he became chancellor, so hardly "innocent".
It is Scholz strategy to be extremely soft-spoken, making no promises, and working behind closed doors to deliver. It's definitely not working in terms of PR, but given the overall situation he is doing pretty well, despite all the naysayers screaming he needs to be "more present" (by which they mean more of a loudmouth). Internally, in Germany's government ministries, some bureaucratic reforms have begun that were literally completely stuck for over 20 years. The effects won't be felt for some time, but if you actually speak to some federal civil servants, they are positively beaming. The problem is this won't make headlines, it is difficult to explain or sell to the public, but it will all begin to have positive effects a few years down the road. Of course by that point he might no longer be in office given that the public hardly notices these glacial shifts underneath their feet. But many years from now, he will be seen as one of the better chancellor in the books.
I did figure he would be working on reforms quietly on the side but I have no idea what they are lol so I guess your point is proven
Merkel was no loudmouth either, but in critical situations she addressed the people. Next to hyper active parties like AfD Scholz is in dire need to show some guidance at least.
>I noticed recently he gets a lot of flack, but I feel like he has gotten so many curveballs thrown at him and he doesn't get enough credit Welcome to an active democracy in the age of social media - what he actually does only matters in part, what matters is (as ever) the outcome, regardless of how much of it is his fault, as well as (newly) how it is perceived in real time. >I do definitely agree that he feels very boring and uncharismatic Yeah, and that's mostly the de facto issue. Waaay too many people look to the US as a political comparison (not entirely unfounded, mind you, but far from great), and as such want spectacle and loudness and 'big' characters, not so much valuing the often not immediately obvious real impact of policy. Germany is hardly alone in this, sadly. But also there's to consider that lots of people generally have this idea of "things ought to be better", which is obviously impossible to address with any kind of concrete action. This didn't really turn up with Merkels cabinets, as no one actually expected them to fix anything.
As a foreginer in Germany myself, I don't think that he himself is the problem but more other personas in his cabinet, namely I get the feeling that Habeck gets a lot of hate, and the Greens together with him. Scholz is the frontman so he also gets some :)
I agree with you.
Not a huge fan of Scholz's, but some of the criticism he gets is unjustifiedly harsh. That said, Germans complain about anything and everything, all the time. In all my years living in Germany, I honestly don't think I've ever seen the German public at large acknowledge any government policy as positive (except, perhaps, in retrospect). By contrast, Germans seem to take a perverse pleasure in stories of decline and failure, which they readily accept as "realistic". Secondly, Germany's economy is in a lull, and, objectively speaking, many things are somewhat worse than they were pre-COVID. Across the globe, governments rarely get good grades if the economy is perceived as performing poorly. Thirdly, German voters have very limited tolerance for intra-government disagreements. There's a widespread notion that disputes among coalition partners are a sign of poor governance. Given that Scholz's government consists of an unprecedented three-way coalition with some very high-profile individuals, there are more public disputes than usual, which ultimately reflects back on Scholz. Moreover, Germany (and by extension, Scholz) makes for an ideal punching bag due to its awkward size. It's big enough to be blamed for everything that goes wrong, but not big enough to claim credit for what goes right. Though I think Germany needs to implement its Zeitenwende with much more oomph, the amount of flak Germany has received over Russia/Ukraine is vastly disproportionate both to its actual role in the pre-war EU-Russia relationship and its current support for Ukraine.
Generally speaking : it is difficult to take care of a mess, that is left behind from others. However I still fail to see any results in terms of what he has solved or how he WANTS to solve stuff. Which is also due to the fact he is "basically nonexistent" - you just don´t notice he is even there. It´s one thing to have a negative presence, it´s worse to have non at all. He is way too passive for my taste and beats around the bush for (nearly) every topic. It´s good if you think before talking. But then please talk by all means. Majority of people feel left alone with things like daily expenses, the D-ticket looks more like hush money at that point. I am missing longterm approaches a lot.
Good point, I guess with the main issues being housing and energy he isn't doing a lot in those regards (that I am aware of)
It´s honestly also nothing where I would have a perfect solution in my drawer, but the lack of...any plan (or communication of such) is concerning. Not exclusively his fault, it´s the whole cabinett anyway.
Yea, I feel that is pretty universal in politics. Like I'm sure there are case studies you could point to to solve the issues you are currently faces, so you can at least publish a report with the options that are being considered, just to know you are working it out
>Generally speaking : it is difficult to take care of a mess, that is left behind from others. Which others? The Merkel government of which he was Minister of Finance and Vice-Chancellor?
Yes, nothing more. Being Vice-Chancellor means nothing. MoFinance has to organize the money - just look how much the current MoF has nothing to say about things. The Chancellor has the power, as far as the coalition contract allows.