German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a Bundestag meeting in Berlin, Germany, on November 7, 2024, where new Finance Minister Joerg Kukies fired the former Finance Minister. Christian Lindner was sworn in on his second day.
Sean Gallup | Getty Images
Germany is set to hold federal elections in February, earlier than Chancellor Olaf Scholz initially proposed after his governing coalition collapsed last week.
Scholz last week hinted at a March election and said he would hold a confidence vote in January.
According to sources within the parliamentary group of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Scholz, the election is scheduled to be held on February 23.
According to reports, the confidence vote will be held on December 16. If a majority of Bundestag members vote that they no longer have confidence in the chancellor, he can recommend to the German president that parliament be dissolved.
The president then has 21 days to act to trigger elections, which must be held within 60 days of the dissolution of parliament. The president also has the final say on setting election dates.
Scholz is under increasing pressure to call an election earlier than he has recommended. However, authorities warned over the weekend that there could be logistical difficulties and organizational risks without adequate preparation time before election day.
Last week, the three-year governing coalition of Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP) collapsed after the chancellor fired former finance minister Christian Lindner. Lindner was succeeded by Jörg Kukies, who was appointed as the new Finance Minister on 7 November.
The coalition collapsed after months of bickering between the three former political partners over economic and budget policies. Both Scholz and Lindner saw their disagreements in these areas as key factors in the collapse. It’s unclear when and how the 2025 budget will be finalized.
Scholz’s Social Democrats and Greens will form a minority government in Germany until February’s general election. The chancellor said he hopes to pass some laws in the final months of his term.
Attention will soon turn to the campaign. Some parties have already selected their main candidates for chancellor, while others, including the Social Democrats, still need to do so, and others have made their future policy plans clear to local media.
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