The mood is poisoned both in front of and behind the scenes

RP ONLINE The mood is poisoned both in front of and behind the scenes Article by RP ONLINE • 44 million • 3 minutes reading time Berlin. The election campaign is already in full swing, and reached the Bundestag on Wednesday. Chancellor Olaf Scholz faced the government questioning. The arguments in front of and behind the scenes are particularly about support for Ukraine. The tone is becoming increasingly harsh. The government questioning in the Bundestag is an instrument of the opposition. The SPD once fought for it in order to be able to attack the then CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel more directly in the Bundestag. Now the SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz is answering questions from MPs, almost two weeks before he will ask the question of confidence in the Bundestag, with the aim of dissolving the Bundestag and clearing the way for new elections. It is quite clear that the questioning is now dominated by the election campaign. This is also the case on Wednesday. The CDU is using the opportunity to point out the poor economic record of the traffic light government and the promises made by Scholz that were not kept. The Chancellor then tries in the Bundestag, as he will do in the election campaign, to deny blame and above all to demand investment. He has been at the helm for the past three years and could have set the course, but the realization that there are very deep fault lines in the German economy comes far too late. Scholz also rejects other accusations, such as his migration policy, admits some shortcomings only in the area of ​​citizen's income, but also lashes out at the Union and FDP. The campaigner is back. Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz refrains from asking questions in the Bundestag on Wednesday. The opposition leader and the Chancellor, the Union and the SPD, are arguing very bitterly, both publicly and behind the scenes, about the issue of the delivery of the Taurus cruise missiles. At an election campaign event at the weekend, Scholz warned of a "Russian roulette" with Germany's security and told Merz that he wanted to issue an ultimatum to the nuclear power Russia. He could only warn against this, said Scholz, who also indirectly described Merz as a "hothead". In the election campaign, the SPD is deliberately setting a contrast between the chancellor and the opposition leader, accusing him of a lack of government experience and a fickle course on the Taurus issue. The Union is now busy making it clear that there was no ultimatum to Russia and that Merz does not have carte blanche to deliver cruise missiles. The debate about this is important, no question about it. But voters also do not want a Teflon election campaign that only deals with questions of weapons systems, previous statements and questions of character of leading candidates. They want an end to the problems in the country, the standstill in many areas and the ducking away of those responsible. After the vote of confidence on December 16, the SPD and CDU/CSU want to make their election manifestos public. It's about time. People in the country will listen very carefully to what concepts there really are, especially to end the economic crisis. And how quickly they work. Because for many people, jobs will no longer be secure in 2025, but life will also have become significantly more expensive. Voters will judge the election campaigners by this.