Photo by Ingo Joseph
Berlin: The ruling three-party coalition in Germany has collapsed as Chancellor Olaf Scholz has fired his finance minister, creating the possibility of early elections and causing political upheaval in Europe’s largest economy. On Thursday, opposition conservatives urged Scholz to conduct an immediate vote of confidence, which could pave the way for elections in January, just one day after he dismissed Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the Free Democrats (FDP) party.
Scholz, who is leading a minority government alongside his Social Democrats and the Greens, intended to schedule the confidence vote for January. With most likely chances of losing, this would result in new elections by the end of March, which is six months earlier than the elections that were originally set for September. Friedrich Merz, the head of the center-right Christian Democrats, currently leading in national polls, argued that this timeline is unacceptable. He called for the vote to be conducted “by the beginning of next week at the latest.” “Time is the essence,” Merz stated. “Germany cannot afford to operate without a majority government for several months, followed by an extensive election campaign and potentially protracted coalition discussions.”
Scholz and Merz have scheduled to meet on Thursday to push the chancellor to urge the confidence vote. In light of the chaos from Wednesday, Scholz mentioned his intention to ask Merz for support in passing the budget and increasing military spending.
Scholz said that he fired Lindner’s position due to his obstructive conduct in budget discussions and accusing him of prioritizing party over national interest, legislation on questionable grounds, which led to the FDP’s departure from the government. “He has often been involved in petty party politics, breaking my trust repeatedly,” the chancellor said about Lindner.
Lindner responded by stating that Scholz had tried to force him into breaching the debt brake, a constitutionally protected spending limit, which he, as a fiscal conservative, refused to accept. “Olaf Scholz does not understand that our country requires a new economic model,” Lindner stated to the media. “He has proven what he lacks
Lindner is expected to receive his dismissal letter from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at his home in Berlin, while Kukies is likely to be appointed as the new finance minister.
