Whereas the French government survived a no-confidence vote by “transformism” tactics (see below), the German government might attach a confidence vote to its Law and Order bill in order to survive this on Friday, Oct. 18.
The German government is imitating the AfD in the hope of gaining voters back, but this effort has produced cracks in its own ranks in the form of opposition to the Law and Order bill. In order to avoid a defeat, Chancellor Olaf Scholz might ask for a confidence vote on the bill, many in the SPD fear. About 20 SPD members of the Bundestag are against the bill, which introduces restrictions on immigrants and more powers to the judiciary. Previously, thousands of SPD members, including 45 out of 207 Bundestag members, had signed a letter against the bill. Young Socialists (Jusos) leader Philipp Türmer has accused Scholz of putting pressure on his critics. In an interview with Stern magazine, Türmer said he hopes “that no opponent to the bill let himself or herself be intimidated.”
Transformism is a term invented in Italy in the 19th century to describe a way of “governing à la carte,” i.e. with a leftist majority today and a rightwing majority tomorrow. It fits the new French government, which Macron appointed after having won the general elections thanks to the left and now has survived in Parliament thanks to the rightwing. On the background, the new austerity guidelines of the EU Stability Pact.
