Perhaps the new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, promised: “A billion euros in bonus will go to nursing.” Due to the high work pressure and relatively low pay, many nurses left their jobs. Scholz wants to raise the minimum wage to twelve euros. “That helps ten million workers,” said the social democrat.

wealth tax

The Left’s favorite project, the wealth tax on the rich, is off the table. Liberals went for it. For this, the Shining Lights Coalition wants to provide relief to the medium and small income earners. “There will be a basic income for the kids who have to opt out of social support,” Scholz promised.

And he stood up for the twenty million German elders. “The pension will remain stable.” His coalition partner Lindner referred to the “fear of inflation”, which rose to six per cent this month.

The FDP was also able to push that the use of cannabis would become legal. In the long run, coffee shops may even be built on the Dutch model with quality control by the government. Another major problem is the lack of housing in cities. “There are 400,000 new homes a year, of which 100,000 are publicly owned,” promised Scholz.

coal fired power station

In terms of energy supply, the Green-right coalition wants the rapid closure of German coal-fired power stations. Current Chancellor Merkel (CDU) has called for it to be removed from the grid in 2038. “We want eighty percent of energy sources to be sustainable,” said Robert Habeck, possibly the new ‘super minister’ of the environment and economy. Currently, Germany derives forty percent of its energy from wind and hydroelectricity, among other sources.

Emphasis will also be laid on modernization of civil law. “We’re going to reform citizenship, as well as family law,” promised Green chairwoman Annalena Barbock. This should lead to integration of foreigners and increased rights of children and single parents. “We need to look more at the views of not just adults, but children, students and youth.”