When Esken approaches Scholz, he turns around and leaves

WELT When Esken approaches Scholz, he turns around and leaves Robert Tannenberg • 2 hours • 2 minutes reading time It is the scene of the day: After the vote of confidence, Chancellor Scholz and parliamentary group leader Mützenich speak in the Bundestag. Saskia Esken approaches from the side. The Chancellor sees the party leader - and walks away. Scholz simply leaves Esken standing The Bundestag has withdrawn its confidence in Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). With a majority of 394 no votes and 116 abstentions, Scholz lost the vote of confidence in parliament in Berlin. Only 207 MPs expressed their confidence in the Chancellor in the roll-call vote. 717 votes were cast in total. Of the SPD MPs, all 201 voted for Scholz. But within the party, the structure of the Social Democrats did not seem quite so united. Shortly after the vote, Scholz and parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich were seen standing together. When party leader Saskia Esken approached the two, they both ended the conversation and walked away. Esken - visibly taken aback - put her hands apart, shook her head and walked back. Another video shows the incident from a different perspective. Mützenich and Scholz shake hands, Esken approaches from behind. Scholz looks briefly to the left, probably sees Esken out of the corner of his eye and ends the conversation with Mützenich. On X, users were harsh in their judgment and described Scholz's behavior as "arrogant" and "shameful". In any case, unity within the SPD looks different. The party executive committee wants to decide on its election program for the new election on February 23 tomorrow, Wednesday. The SPD wants to significantly reduce the financial burden on many citizens - and to do so, tax people with high incomes more heavily. The core proposals include raising the minimum wage to 15 euros per hour, capping the personal contribution to care at 1,000 euros per month, stabilizing the pension level, making the rent cap permanent and reducing income tax for 95 percent of those who pay.