Yep, that was a shocker. Apparently, the leadership committee (the top level of SPD Party) met and sent a message to Martin Schulz this morning that they preferred he NOT accept the post of Foreign Minister. And in the past hour, he declined the post, as they desired.
What happened?
There are accusations that promises were made at least a month ago that if a coalition were to occur....Sigmar Gabriel would be kept on....at some minister position. When the smoke cleared....Gabriel was offered nothing. Not within the minister position, or the top party positions. In his mind (Gabriel), it was a crappy way to treat some guy with his background.
Oddly, a fair number of people within the SPD Party....said the same thing.
What happens now? Unknown. It is unknown if Gabriel will stay on as Foreign Minister, or if the Party will chose a new person.
As for Schulz? Total fall from grace.
He has no position as a minister....not even vice-chancellor. And he has no party leadership position. He's now a back-bencher. If I were to make a guess, within six months...he'll flip back to the EU and leave the Bundestag.
How does this all play out to the public? I think working-class Germans see this all as one-star political play and just another reason why Merkel's legacy is in dismal trouble. This coalition? It looks like it's designed to get two years of time before forcing new elections.
I would offer this analysis.....it's like watching fifth-grade kids run some government and realize they screwed up. In a normal political situation....there ought to be meetings and absolute discussions held to cause and effect, and the SPD avoided that entirely
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