After the collapse of Olaf Scholz’s coalition, the elections will take place on February 23, seven months in advance.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in parliament, triggering snap elections seven months ahead of schedule.
Monday’s vote came after Scholz’s fragile coalition collapsed, triggering a political crisis in the European Union’s largest economy.
Scholz won the support of 207 MPs out of the 733 seats in the lower house, or Bundestag, while 394 members voted against him and 116 abstained. That left him well short of the 367-vote majority needed to win.
Elections for a new parliament will take place on February 23.
The government coalition, made up of three political parties, was shaken when Scholz dismissed the finance minister Christian Lindner in November.
Lindner’s pro-business Free Democrats then left the coalition government, depriving Scholz of a majority in parliament.
Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens will continue to rule the country without the support of parliament until a new government is formed.
Monday’s decision comes after months of infighting over budget priorities and debt spending.
Earlier this month, a hung parliament Neighboring France ousted the country’s prime minister without a vote of confidence.
The crisis in France prompted President Emmanuel Macron to appoint a centrist politician François Bayrou as the new Prime Minister without calling new elections. But it highlighted intensifying political divisions in EU countries amid economic uncertainty and the war in Ukraine.
In Germany, Scholz – who served as Hamburg mayor and finance minister before becoming head of a new government in 2021 – accused the Free Democrats of wanting to block investment in the country.
Considered a candidate for continuity when he succeeded Angela Merkel three years ago, he
presented next year’s elections as an opportunity for voters to set a new course, viewing voting as a
choice between a future of growth and a future of austerity.
If he wins a second term, Scholz said he would invest heavily in Germany’s creaking infrastructure and not make the spending cuts he says conservatives want.
Scholz and conservative Christian Democratic Union leader Friedrich Merz, who polls suggest will likely be the next chancellor, clashed in a debate before Monday’s vote, accusing each other of incompetence .
“Myopia might save money in the short term, but the mortgage on our future is unaffordable,” Scholz told lawmakers.
Merz told Scholz his spending plans would burden future generations and accused the chancellor of failing to keep his rearmament promises since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The conservative leader has been a strong supporter of giving Ukraine German-made Taurus missiles, which could be used to strike targets in Russia.
Scholz, on the other hand, refused to provide them in Kyivsuggesting that such measures could plunge Berlin into fiercer conflict with Moscow.
Both Scholz and Merz are loyal supporters of Israel. Germany is one of Israel’s main arms suppliers, accused by rights groups of carrying out genocide in Gaza.
Ahead of the February vote, the conservatives have a comfortable, if small, lead of more than 10 percentage points over the SPD in most polls.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is slightly ahead of Scholz’s party while the Greens are in fourth place.
Major parties have refused to govern with the AfD, but its presence complicates parliamentary politics, making three-way coalitions like Scholz’s more likely.
Meanwhile, the chancellor presented a list of urgent measures he could adopt before the election, including 11 billion euros ($11.6 billion) in tax cuts and an increase in family benefits.