Chancellor announces vote of confidence and new elections
First the US election decision, then the coalition break-up in Berlin: Chancellor Scholz dismisses his finance minister and announces a vote of confidence.
The Bundestag (center) and the Federal Chancellery (right) in Berlin.
(Image: immodium / Shutterstock.com)
Donald Trump's election victory in the USA was followed by the break-up of the governing coalition in Berlin on Wednesday evening. After numerous crisis talks over the past few days, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) dismissed his Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and announced that he would call for a vote of confidence. This could lead to new elections in spring 2025.
During the course of Wednesday, the coalition leaders met again at the Federal Chancellery for crisis talks. In the evening, the first media reports circulated that Lindner had proposed new elections in the meeting with Scholz and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck (Greens). It initially remained unclear how the Chancellor reacted to this.
Scholz wants to call a vote of confidence
That is now clear: at around 9.30 p.m., Olaf Scholz appeared before the cameras in Berlin and confirmed Lindner's dismissal, making serious accusations against him. The Federal Chancellor now intends to bring several important bills to a vote in the Bundestag by the end of the year in a minority government with the Greens. Scholz said in Berlin on Wednesday evening that he would then call a vote of confidence in the first week of the 2025 parliamentary session.
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According to Scholz, the Bundestag will then vote on this on January 15. If the Bundestag does not express its confidence in the Chancellor, the head of government can ask the Federal President to dissolve parliament. According to the Basic Law, this must be done within 21 days. New elections must then be held within 60 days.
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