Schaeuble Warns Against `Debasement' in Political Discourse

(Bloomberg) -- Wolfgang Schaeuble, newly elected president of Germany’s lower house of parliament, warned lawmakers to dispense with “contempt and debasement” as he contends with running an institution that now includes the far-right Alternative for Germany.

The country’s longest-serving lawmaker and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s fiscal enforcer for the past eight years as finance minister, Schaeuble was backed as Bundestag president by on Tuesday more than 70 percent of lawmakers as the chamber convened in Berlin for the first time since last month’s election. He’ll be tasked with preserving order amid concerns that the more than 90 newcomers from the anti-immigration party may upend parliamentary routine, as they have in state legislatures across the country.

“In recent months there have been comments of contempt and debasement in our country,” Schaeuble said in his first speech to lawmakers in his new role. “I don’t think there’s room for this in a civilized coexistence.”

As the legislative period begins, one month after a national election that saw Merkel emerge victorious but weakened, the German chancellor is still working to form a new coalition government, a process that may last until the end of the year. Merkel’s CDU and its Bavarian sister party will hold a second round of exploratory talks Tuesday with the pro-business Free Democrats and environmental Greens party to discuss taxes, finance and European policy.

The multi-party negotiators met last Friday as a full group for the first time to lay out the structure for the preliminary talks, which are set to last into mid-November. Only then, with approval of members of the parties, will the factions proceed to official coalition talks. Political leaders say they aim to finish those talks before Christmas.

Cem Oezdemir, the co-leader of the Greens, told reporters that talks remained constructive. The Greens will aim for concrete commitments to meet Germany’s climate goals, provide for infrastructure improvements and take a harder line on Turkey, he said. On a key issue -- maintaining Germany’s balanced budget -- Oezdemir said the four parties were largely in agreement.

“I can’t remember any party questioning the balanced budget,” Oezdemir said.

Tensions with the AfD, which has advocated shutting the country’s borders and calls the Muslim minority “a great danger to our state,” were already on display. The AfD’s first speaker, caucus whip Bernd Baumann, attacked the main parties for changing parliamentary rules to ensure that the longest-serving legislator opens the first Bundestag session, rather than the oldest. That honor would have gone to the AfD.

Nazi Comparisons

“Exactly how great is the fear of the AfD and its voters?” Baumann asked. He compared the move to parliamentary tricks in 1933 played by Nazi minister Hermann Goering, who was Reichstag president.

Marco Buschmann, the Free Democrats’ whip, hit back by accusing the AfD members of casting themselves as “victims of a dark conspiracy.”

“That you seriously make a comparison with the victims of Goering -- you’ve really outdone yourself with tastelessness,” Buschmann said.

Merkel sat in the front row with her caucus, rather than on the government bench. Until a new coalition is formed, she’ll govern as a caretaker. Later on Tuesday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will appoint the chancellor and her existing cabinet to remain in power on an interim basis. Merkel ruled the last four years in a so-called grand coalition with the Social Democrats, who said they would go into opposition after posting their worst result since World War II in the election.

The caretaker government “has the same powers, but will observe political custom,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Monday. “Therefore, during the interim phase, a level of restraint will be adopted and the new government partners will have to be consulted regarding important issues.”

The Social Democrats assumed their new role, with SPD whip Carsten Schneider attacking Merkel for the rise of the upstart right-wing faction.

“Your political style, Mrs. Merkel, is one reason why we have a right-wing populist party here in the Bundestag today,” Schneider said. “In this campaign, you’ve avoided every political fight over the best ideas and concepts, every debate on better arguments.”

--With assistance from Birgit Jennen

To contact the reporters on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net, Arne Delfs in Berlin at adelfs@bloomberg.net, Rainer Buergin in Berlin at rbuergin1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net, Chad Thomas, Eddie Buckle

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