Tuesday, December 17

Germany has become the second European country in two weeks to experience a no confidence vote, sending the country into political turmoil.

Just nine months before the country's parliamentary elections, the German Parliament voted against Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government yesterday in a major no confidence vote. The parliament voted 394-207 to restructure their existing government, with 116 members abstaining from the vote.

In November, Scholz was forced to call for a confidence vote after his coalition in parliament fell apart, leaving him unable to pass country-wide bills. The upcoming snap elections will now take place on February 23, but the path will only get tougher from there. Due to the fact that there are seven primary parties in the German Parliament, the formation of a coalition between like-minded parties is needed to establish a majority, which could extend the restructuring of the government by several months.

This comes at a tough time for Germany, who is struggling amid times of economic crisis. Voters are split over major issues like military support to Ukraine and the country's impending budget deadline, the latter of which will decide whether the government increases or restricts spending to get the economy moving again. Fears of Russia and Putin are also on the rise -- soon-to-be United States President Donald Trump has threatened to back out of NATO and Putin continually threatens the usage of nuclear weapons -- and Germany is divided over whether to provide additional support to Ukraine or fund the growth of their own military.

Either way, Scholz is unlikely to maintain his position as the Chancellor, with the prime candidate expected to be Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union party, a conservative party with slightly different values than Scholz's more liberal Social Democratic party. It will be tough for the parties to agree on a coalition, though, as most of them have contrasting values or beliefs that may hinder Germany's process as they restructure their government in spring.

However, the entire world is in deep political instability right now-- Germany is not the only country to be experiencing this type of issue. South Korea impeached their president last week, and France went through a no confidence vote two weeks ago. Syria's political future is uncertain after their civil war came to an end last week, and the United States is gearing up for a major switch of power as Donald Trump prepares to take the presidency with a fully Republican Congress.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Goldfish do not have a three-second memory-- their memory actually lasts around three months.

Quote of the Day: Stress is the sandpaper of life, smoothing out our rough edges and revealing our inner strength. (Unknown)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Allusion (noun, pronounced uh-LOO-zhun)- An allusion is a reference to something that avoids mentioning the thing directly. Allusion may also describe the use of such a statement or the act of alluding to something.

In a Sentence: The lyrics contain biblical allusions.