German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday dismissed calls for a no-confidence vote following the dismissal of his finance minister, a move signaling the imminent collapse of his coalition government. Scholz asserted that he would continue governing with a minority government until early next year.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the largest opposition bloc in parliament, demanded immediate elections after Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Wednesday for his perceived lack of cooperation in addressing the country’s economic woes.
“The finance minister shows no willingness to implement the offer for the good of our country. I do not want to subject our country to such behavior anymore,” Scholz said.
Scholz’s actions triggered a scheduled confidence vote in the German parliament on January 15, which is anticipated to result in elections by March, earlier than the previously scheduled September timeline. However, some are advocating for the process to be expedited to 2024.
“The coalition no longer has a majority in the German Bundestag, and we therefore call on the chancellor . . . to call a vote of confidence immediately, or at the latest by the beginning of next week,” Merz stated.
Scholz maintained on Thursday that he would not accelerate the confidence vote beyond January.
“The citizens will soon have the opportunity to decide anew how to proceed,” the chancellor said according to a report by AP that cited the German Press Agency (DPA). “That is their right. I will therefore put the vote of confidence to the Bundestag at the beginning of next year.”
The finance minister was accused by Scholz of violating his trust after Lindner publicly proposed tax cuts for a select few high-income earners while simultaneously advocating for pension cuts for all retirees.
“That is not decent,” Scholz remarked.
The economic policy disagreements reportedly emerged as the coalition government – in power since – attempts to bridge a billion-euro gap in Germany’s 2025 budget.
Scholz is reportedly optimistic about collaborating with his coalition government – comprising his left-leaning Social Democrats party and the environmentalist Greens party – in conjunction with members of Merz’s center-right party to pass legislation in the coming weeks to address their 2025 budget deficits.
“We simply cannot afford to have a government without a majority in Germany for several months now, and then campaign for several more months, and then possibly conduct coalition negotiations for several weeks,” Merz argued against Scholz’s plan.
Given that Scholz’s party no longer holds a majority, he is projected to lose the upcoming confidence vote, triggering the dissolution of parliament within 21 days by Germany’s president and forcing an early election as soon as January.
“During these 21 days, we will have enough time to find out whether there are any issues that we may have to decide on together,” Merz said before committing to collaborate with the minority government. “We are, of course, prepared to hold talks . . . we are also prepared to take responsibility for our country.”