Olaf Scholz Sworn In as German Chancellor, Promises 'New Beginning'

Social Democrat Olaf Scholz was sworn in as Germany's new chancellor Tuesday night, marking the end of Angela Merkel's 16-year tenure. The pragmatic Scholz has a wide range of political experience — mayor of Hamburg, finance minister and as Merkel's vice chancellor — before his Social Democrats won the German elections in September.

At his inauguration ceremony, Scholz, 63, promised ''a new beginning'' for Germany, and his new coalition government marks the start of a new era.

For 16 years, Merkel was known as not just the leader of Germany, but ''the queen of the European Union,'' per BBC News. Her moderate policies on China, welcoming policies toward millions of migrants, and constant desire for multilateralism defined the Merkel era, and Scholz is likely to continue many of her policies.

Politico reported that Scholz's coalition is likely to ''accelerate efforts to cut carbon emissions, maintain fiscal discipline,'' and push for increased multilateralism, all policies that Merkel's center right government championed.

Describing Scholz as similar to Merkel — ''terse, well-briefed, and embodying the aura of stability,'' The New York Times reports that Scholz will need to bring that stability to Germany, as the country faces spiking COVID cases. The country is dealing with a fourth wave of the pandemic, and Scholz has supported the policy of mandatory vaccination as a way to blunt surging cases.

To tackle the pandemic and face the threat of climate change, Scholz has new partners at his side.

Germany's coalition government is one of new allies and strange bedfellows. Scholz's SPD is partnered with the German Green Party and the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP) in an alliance called ''the traffic light coalition,'' named after the three parties' colors.

According to The Local, Germany's new government has ambitious policies such as phasing out coal by 2030, deeper integration with the European Union, legalizing marijuana, and welcoming more migrants to the country, a sign that Germany is in for the ''new beginning'' that Scholz promised.

Ric Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany under then-President Donald Trump, tells Newsmax that he is concerned about the future direction of Germany's new Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Defense respectively, stating, "It is not good that the Greens are in charge of both the foreign ministry and the defense ministry. The German government and public doesn’t share the same threat assessment that countries like Iran pose for the U.S."

Foreign policy is not the only area where Grenell is skeptical.

Grenell additionally questioned whether the current coalition will last long, given the differing ideologies of the three parties. "It was a good sign Scholz gave the Finance Ministry to Christian Lindner [leader of the FDP], but when Scholz and Lindner start working together inside government, I think the current coalition will not last very long. There is limited ability for it to work together."

Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Newsmax: ''I don't expect that we should expect sweeping changes in Germany. The political center has held. Even though you are seeing a slight shift to the left, you are not seeing a big shift. Germany is a country that has maintained a strong emphasis on multilateralism.''

While Kupchan agrees with Grenell on the relative inexperience of the Greens' Annalena Baerbock, the new foreign minister, he is confident that the new government will be able to balance the high-wire act that is diplomacy with China.

''My sense is the new government will take a more skeptical stance on China,'' he said. ''German public opinion has toughened up, in part because of Hong Kong and the persecution of the Uyghurs. That being said, the German auto industry and trade remains heavily linked to China.''

The new center-left government is likely to be the same as the previous government in style: stern, pragmatic, and dedicated to multilateralism. In terms of policy, the shift to the left, however subtle, is a certain sign that the ''new beginning'' is dawning in Germany.