The Scholz cabinet (, ) was the 24th government of the Federal Republic of Germany during the 20th legislative session of the Bundestag. It was sworn in on 8 December 2021 following the 2021 federal election and dismissed on 25 March 2025, and acted in a caretaker role until 6 May 2025. It was preceded by the Fourth Merkel cabinet and succeeded by the Merz cabinet. It was led by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the cabinet ultimately composed of Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Alliance 90/The Greens.
The Free Democratic Party (FDP) was a member of the cabinet until 7 November 2024, when the three-way coalition collapsed through Scholz's dismissal of FDP finance minister Christian Lindner. Scholz announced pursuing a snap election to be held in early 2025. On 16 December 2024, Scholz lost a vote of no confidence. On the same day, he requested the President of Germany to dissolve the Bundestag. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier granted the request and called new elections for 23 February 2025.
The coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP was an arrangement known as a "traffic light coalition" in German politics after the parties' traditional colours, respectively red, green and yellow, matching the colours of a traffic light (). This traffic light coalition-government was the first of its kind at the federal level in the history of the German federal republic.
In 2023, a mid-term review of the coalition agreement's implementation found that compared to the preceding grand coalition (Merkel IV), the traffic light government had achieved 38 instead of 53 per cent of its coalition promises, which is proportionally less, but with 174 instead of 154 fulfilled promises; it had actually achieved somewhat more in absolute terms. This applies to the government's major reform projects as well as to smaller government projects.
Coalition formation
Following the 2021 German federal election, the three parties reached a coalition agreement on 24 November 2021. The SPD approved the coalition agreement by 98.8% (598 yes-votes to 7 no-votes and 3 abstentions) at the party's federal convention on 4 December 2021. The FDP approved the coalition agreement by 92.24% (535 yes-votes to 37 no-votes and 8 abstentions) at the party's federal convention on 5 December 2021. The Greens approved the agreement via a party-wide referendum, the results of which were declared on 6 December to be 85.96% (61,174 yes-votes to 8,275 no-votes and 1,701 abstentions).
The opposition Christian Democrats can veto important laws () via their Bundesrat seats. They thus form a de facto fourth power in the coalition. The traffic light coalition has therefore been likened to a "Zimbabwe coalition", according to Zimbabwe's flag (red, green, and yellow, plus black for the Christian Democrats). The Christian Democrats used their veto, for example, to preserve sanctions in Germany's unemployment benefit reform (Bürgergeld) and to prevent the federal voting age from being lowered to 16.
Scholz was elected as Chancellor by the Bundestag on 8 December 2021. His cabinet, as determined by the coalition agreement, was formally appointed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the same day.
2024 crisis
Due to the sharp policy disagreement over the economic crisis, Scholz announced the dismissal of FDP leader Christian Lindner as Federal Minister of Finance on 6 November 2024, triggering the collapse of the coalition, and making a snap election likely to be held earlier in 2025.
On 16 December 2024, Scholz lost a vote of confidence.German election: Scholz loses confidence vote auf dw.com. Accessed on 16 December 2024. As a result, an early 2025 federal election was held on 23 February 2025.
Composition The cabinet consists of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and sixteen federal ministers. Until November 2024 SPD held eight positions, the Greens five and the FDP four. From then on, the SPD held nine positions and the Greens six, while two portfolios were held by a non-partisan minister.
OrderOfficePortraitMinisterPartyTook officeLeft office1Chancellor Olaf ScholzSPD 8 December 2021 6 May 2025 2Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck Greens 8 December 2021 6 May 2025Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action3 Federal Minister of Finance Christian LindnerFDP8 December 20217 November 2024 (dismissed) Jörg KukiesSPD 7 November 2024 6 May 2025 4Federal Minister of the Interior and CommunityNancy FaeserSPD 8 December 2021 6 May 20255Federal Minister for Foreign AffairsAnnalena BaerbockGreens 8 December 2021 6 May 20256Federal Minister of Justice Marco BuschmannFDP 8 December 2021 7 November 2024 (resigned) Volker WissingInd 7 November 2024 6 May 20257Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Hubertus HeilSPD 14 March 2018 6 May 2025 8 Federal Minister of DefenceChristine LambrechtSPD 8 December 2021 19 January 2023 Boris PistoriusSPD 19 January 2023Incumbent (in Merz Cabinet)9Federal Minister of Food and AgricultureCem ÖzdemirGreens 8 December 2021 6 May 2025 10 Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Anne Spiegel Greens 8 December 2021 25 April 2022 Lisa Paus 25 April 2022 6 May 202511Federal Minister of HealthKarl LauterbachSPD 8 December 2021 6 May 202512Federal Minister of Digital and Transport Volker WissingFDP(until 2024) 8 December 2021 6 May 2025Ind(since 2024)13Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer ProtectionSteffi LemkeGreens 8 December 2021 6 May 2025 14 Federal Minister of Education and ResearchBettina Stark-WatzingerFDP 8 December 20217 November 2024 (resigned)Cem ÖzdemirGreens 7 November 2024 6 May 202515Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentSvenja SchulzeSPD 8 December 2021 6 May 202516Federal Minister for Housing, Urban Development and BuildingKlara GeywitzSPD 8 December 2021 6 May 202517Federal Minister for Special Affairs &Head of the ChancelleryWolfgang SchmidtSPD 8 December 2021 6 May 2025
Policy
+ProjectScopeStageBAföG expansionIn forceHousing benefits threshold loweringIn force49-Euro-TicketTicket to ride regional transport in all of GermanyStarted sale 1 May 2023Long-term care expansion and payroll tax increaseTax increase from 1.7% to 2.4% of incomeIn force since 1 July 2023Abolition of § 219aAllowing medics to inform about abortion services they provideIn force 19 July 2022Animal Husbandry LabellingPig meat that is both produced and sold in GermanyIn force 24 August 2023Cannabis legalisationFor personal useIn force 1 April 2024
Economy and energy Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Scholz government passed a gas rationing law, under the leadership of economy minister Robert Habeck (Greens). In August 2022, a major expansion of the BAföG system of government grants and loans for students and trainees was introduced, fulfilling a key FDP government program plank. The largest housing benefits reform since 1965 will come into effect on January 1, 2023, with the number of households entitled to receive the benefits increasing from 600,000 in 2022 to over 2 million in 2023, and the allowances for heating and cooling more than doubling. The Traffic Light coalition also agreed on a major energy relief package in October 2022, to come into effect starting in January 2023 and running through mid-2024. The government announced a gas price capping scheme called Gaspreisbremse for 2023.
In response to alleged price-gouging and excess profits during the energy and inflation crisis of 2022–2023, the federal government expanded the powers of the Federal Cartel Office in July 2023. The FCO was granted the ability to take action if there was a significant disruption in market competition, irrespective of a specific breach in antitrust law. Also the requirement that the FCO identify the size of the benefit obtained by a company for violating antitrust law before being able to fine the firm's excess profits was removed.
Labour In August 2022, the Bundestag implemented Amendments to the Proof Act (Nachweisgesetz or NachwG), which implemented the EU Directive on Working Conditions. The amendments obligate employers to provide detailed information about working conditions to their employees, and employment contracts must explicitly state employment terms, conditions, and benefits.
In October 2022, the minimum wage was increased to per hour, fulfilling a key SPD election campaign promise. In November, the Scholz government introduced the Bürgergeld (), a long-term unemployment benefits reform to replace Hartz IV. Hartz IV was the unemployment benefits system implemented under SPD Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in 2003 as part of the Agenda 2010 reform package; since 2018, the SPD has disowned the Hartz reforms and sought a new system that increases unemployment benefits and is less punitive towards the long-term unemployed, which the Bürgergeld system accomplishes. The reform also sought to address the skills gap in Germany, with Bürgergeld recipients being entitled to additional money during vocational training. The new system came into effect in January 2023, after reaching a compromise with the opposition CDU/CSU in the Bundesrat.
Transport In its first year, the Scholz government introduced the 9-Euro-Ticket in summer 2022. The transport ministry, led by Volker Wissing (Free Democrats), failed to prepare an adequate plan to meet emissions reduction targets in the transport sector in summer 2022. However, in October 2022, the federal government and the states agreed to implement a nationwide 49 Euro per month public transport ticket, which will apply to all local and regional transit across the country and eliminate the previous maze of tariff zones starting in 2023. The 49-Euro ticket came into effect on May 1st, 2023.
Healthcare and long-term care policy In February 2022, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) announced a special fund to pay tax-free bonuses to eldercare and hospital staff who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic. are earmarked for hospital staff and the other are for eldercare staff. Under Lauterbach, the vaccination ratio stagnated at 75% (as of August 2022).
In June 2023, a major expansion of the long-term care was implemented. The reform increased allowances for at-home caregivers to between per month and introduced a new annual flexible budget for caregivers. To fund the estimated costs of per year, the payroll tax for long-term care was increased from 1.7% to 2.4% in a graduated scale based upon the number of children an employee has.
Social policy In June 2022, the SPD, Greens, FDP, and Die Linke voted to repeal Paragraph Section 219a of the Criminal Code, which outlawed the so-called "advertisement" of abortion services (a legal term). The paragraph had prohibited doctors from specifying online which kinds of abortion services they provide, and under what circumstances.
In June 2023, new amendments strengthening hate crime legislation in the Criminal Code regarding sexual orientation and gender-specific crimes were introduced by Justice Minister Marco Buschmann and ratified by the Bundestag: Harsher penalties for femicide, and new rules taking into account motives stemming from patriarchal claims of ownership and misogyny. Expansion of rehabilitation-focused treatment for those in need of treatment and willing to be treated. New focus on keeping violent offenders from using rehab centers as a way of getting out of stricter punishment, with the goal of taking pressure off of the rehab centers, and preventing dangerous addicted offenders from being released due to lack of treatment places. Reform of substitute prison sentences for unpaid fines to take pressure off the prison system. Determination of fines incorporating socioeconomic status (e.g. income, poverty, unemployment, homelessness or mental illness) and ability for fines to be paid in installments or substituted for unpaid community work.