New Finance Minister Joerg Kukies walks past Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz before getting the certificate of appointment by the German President at the presidential Bellevue Palace in Berlin on November 7, 2024. The day before, the German Chancellor sacked Finance minister Christian Lindner, from the pro-business Free Democrats FDP, leading to the breakdown of his three-party coalition government. (Photo by RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP) (Photo by RALF HIRSCHBERGER/AFP via Getty Images)