“Our team spirit is our biggest asset”

In his New Year's speech, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) called on citizens to stick together and trust in their own strength. "A difficult year is coming to an end tonight," said Scholz, according to the text of the speech that had been distributed in advance. Russia is waging an “imperialist war of aggression in the middle of Europe”.

However, the story of the year 2022 is "not just about war, suffering and worry," the Chancellor continued. "It's about cohesion and strength - and yes, also about confidence." The speech is scheduled to be broadcast on television on Saturday night.

In connection with the Ukraine war, Scholz referred to Russian failures and miscalculations. He highlighted three points.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin "didn't overrun Ukraine in a few days, as he had planned, quite the opposite," Scholz said, he underestimated Ukraine's willingness to defend itself. Secondly, the EU and NATO are not split, but "more united than they have been for a long time". And thirdly, "we in Germany didn't give in when Russia turned off our gas taps in the summer - because we won't allow ourselves to be blackmailed".

Scholz expressed understanding for the concerns of citizens. "This turning point is also putting us and our country to the test," he said. “We sympathize with the Ukrainians, who, even on days like today, cannot rest from the Russian bombs and rockets.” And in Germany, too, the consequences of the war can be felt in everyday life – “when shopping in the supermarket, at the gas station or when we pay the electricity or gas bill”.

But Germany is a country with “overwhelming compassion and helpfulness” in which people stand up for others. Scholz also referred to his government's relief packages - and summed up: "This is Germany at the beginning of this new year: a strong country. A country that is working with energy and speed towards a good, secure future. A country that holds arms, especially in difficult times.”

The Chancellor emphasized that new simplifications for citizens would come into force on Sunday at the beginning of 2023 - the expanded housing benefit, the increased child benefit, tax relief in the amount of 19 billion euros and price caps for the costs of electricity, gas and district heating . "Our cohesion is our biggest asset," said Scholz. His wish is: "Let's stick together in the coming year."

The majority of Germans are now concerned about the situation in the country and about the new year. In a survey conducted by Hamburg futurologist Horst Opaschowski in cooperation with the Ipsos Institute, only 35 percent of the representative respondents affirmed the statement: “I am facing the coming year with great confidence and optimism. I expect better times.” A year earlier, 53 percent still saw themselves as optimists, at the turn of the year 2020/21 it was 56 percent.

Opaschowski spoke of a "fall in confidence". Against the background of the numerous appeals to save energy, the futurologist explained: "The citizens don't need any warnings from above about where and how they should save, they do it themselves." 64 percent of those surveyed were convinced that the citizens are more united again and will help themselves.

In the opinion of many citizens, the year 2022 did not go well. In a recent Allensbach survey for the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung", 61 percent agreed with the statement: "If you think about the current crises and problems, the past year 2022 was the worst year in a long time".

"Kick-off Politics" is WELT's daily news podcast. The most important topic analyzed by WELT editors and the dates of the day. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or directly via RSS feed.