Scholz has announced he will seek a vote of confidence on January 15, a move that could lead to early parliamentary elections by March 2025.
The coalition's unraveling began after Lindner proposed a neoliberal economic plan on Friday, which failed to gain support from his coalition partners. On Wednesday, a heated meeting of party leaders ended with Scholz rejecting calls for snap elections and dismissing Lindner as finance minister.
According to Bild, Scholz’s decision pre-empted the FDP’s own plans to exit the coalition on Thursday. “The minister blocked solutions too often… he has too often failed my trust,” Scholz stated at a press conference, where he confirmed his intent to seek a confidence vote. Scholz emphasized that with Donald Trump’s recent election win in the United States, Germany must prioritize security and economic investment. “Refusing this is irresponsible. As chancellor, I cannot tolerate it,” Scholz said, calling the FDP’s stance “incomprehensible.”
With Scholz unlikely to secure majority support, Germany appears headed for early elections. The FDP, which polls show at only 4%, below the parliamentary threshold, is seen as attempting to secure its political survival by breaking away from the coalition.
The crisis has been brewing for weeks, Deutsche Welle reports, as the coalition parties clashed over budget allocations, migration policy, and other issues, culminating in the end of Germany's three-party government.
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Source: TVP Info