German Chancellor Scholz to ask parliament to clear way for new elections

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz seeks snap elections after confidence vote, aiming to navigate economic crisis.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz will call on Germany's parliament on Monday (December 16, 2024) to declare it has no confidence in him, taking the first formal step towards securing early elections following his government's collapse.

The departure last month of the neoliberal Free Democrats from the three-way coalition left Mr. Scholz's Social Democrats and the Greens governing without a parliamentary majority just when Germany faces its deepest economic crisis in a generation.

Rules drawn up to prevent the series of short-lived and unstable governments that played an important role in helping the Nazis rise to power in the 1930s mean that the path to new elections is long and largely controlled by the chancellor.

"If legislators follow the path I am recommending, I will suggest to the President that he dissolve parliament," Mr. Scholz told reporters on Wednesday (December 12, 2024) after requesting the motion.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said he will act accordingly after Monday's (December 16, 2024) vote and agreed with parliamentary parties on Feb. 23 as the date for early elections.

Assuming the no-confidence vote passes, Mr. Scholz and his ministers will remain in office in an acting capacity until a new government is formed, which could take months if coalition negotiations prove lengthy.

Mr. Scholz has outlined a list of measures that could pass with opposition support during that period, including 11 billion euros ($11.55 billion) of tax cuts and an increase in child benefits already agreed on by former coalition partners.