Politics and conspiracy theories go hand in hand, and when a politician becomes the topic of debate, it’s no surprise that the theories will run rampant. British tabloid The Daily Express was hot on the press this morning with quite the intriguing scheme underway in the German government — a plan to oust German Chancellor Angela Merkel as early as next week.
“[Gabriel] could be Chancellor next week if he and the SPD wanted it”
According to the paper, Dietmar Bartsch, the left-wing leader of Die Linke party, is spearheading a plot to overthrow Merkel by joining forces with the Green Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the current coalition party to Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Bartsch’s plan includes putting Sigmar Gabriel, leader of the SDP, into Merkel’s position, stating that he “could be Chancellor next week if he and the SPD wanted it”.
Pulling off the scheme wouldn’t be easy, but it is doable. Bartsch’s vision could only work if the three parties pull rank to push through a vote of no-confidence against Merkel, seeing as together they would have a majority in the German parliament.
Such a move is highly unlikely and sounds more like something destined for a plot line on House of Cards, but nevertheless it is an interesting move whether there is actual truth behind the plan or not. For now it looks like Merkel will stay put until she, or someone new, gets elected in 2017.
