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Scholz seeks confidence vote, Germany heads for early elections

Politiko 2024-12-11 16:06:28

Scholz seeks confidence vote, Germany heads for early elections

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday requested a vote of confidence in Parliament next week, formally paving the way for the country to hold early elections.

Five weeks after his three-party governing coalition collapsed due to disagreements over how to revive the country's stalled economy, Scholz's office said it has requested a vote of confidence in the Bundestag next Monday.

The aim is to hold parliamentary elections on February 23, seven months earlier than the regular election time.

Scholz is not expected to survive the confidence vote on Monday.

His party, the Social Democrats, has 207 deputies in the Bundestag, while his remaining coalition partners, the Greens, have 117. This means that Scholz's government does not enjoy a majority in the 733-seat Parliament.

The vote of confidence is necessary because the German Constitution does not allow Parliament to dissolve on its own.

If Scholz loses the vote of confidence, it will be up to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to decide whether to dissolve the Bundestag. He has 21 days to make that decision, and once Parliament is dissolved, elections must be held within 60 days.

Polls show Scholz's party trailing the main opposition party, Friedrich Merz's Union bloc. Vice-President Robert Habeck, whose Greens are even further behind, will also run for chancellor.

The far-right Alternative for Germany party, which is rising in the polls, has nominated Alice Weidel for chancellor, but she is unlikely to win the post because other parties do not want to cooperate with the party./ REL

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