The government of German Chancellor Scholz has formally fallen after a majority of Bundestag members withdrew their confidence, paving the way for elections in a little over two months. The government initially collapsed last month when Scholz dismissed the finance minister from the liberal FDP, leading to the resignation of other FDP ministers and leaving a minority government with Scholz’s SPD and the Greens.
Political leaders agreed to hold elections on February 23, seven months earlier than planned, but early elections require strict conditions under German law. Scholz requested a vote of confidence to be defeated, which has now occurred.
President Steinmeier is expected to dissolve the Bundestag and call for new elections. Scholz will run again as the SPD’s candidate, but the party is trailing behind Friedrich Merz’s CDU/CSU and even the far-right AfD in polls.
The CDU/CSU highlights the struggling German economy, with Merz criticizing the government in the Bundestag for leaving the country amidst one of its biggest economic crises since the war.
Source: NOS