La German government crisis is becoming more and more heated day by day, so much so that Germany could go to early elections already between January and February.
The acceleration came on Sunday evening when, during a TV interview on the Ard broadcaster, the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz he stated that a vote of confidence on the now shaky government could already be held before Christmas. If that were the case, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier could dissolve parliament and call early elections as early as the beginning of the year.
After repeated warnings, the crisis exploded last week, when Scholz has decided to oust Finance Minister Christian Lindner, leader of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), which together with the Social Democrats (SPD) led by the Chancellor himself and the Greens, kept the so-called "traffic light coalition” on which the government was based. In his place was appointed, Joerg Kukies, a trusted economist of the SPD, current State Secretary in the Federal Chancellery and a figure very close to the Chancellor.
“He has broken my trust too many times,” Scholz told reporters, referring to Lindner, adding that there was “no longer a basis of trust for further cooperation,” as the FDP leader was “more concerned with his clientele and the survival of his party.”
Scholz: Confidence before Christmas
"I'm not glued to my chair", said the Chancellor interviewed by journalist Caren Miosga. "It is not a problem at all for me to ask for a vote of confidence before Christmas if everyone agrees,” he added, stressing that “I too am of the opinion that we should go to vote as soon as possible".
The vote of confidence had initially been scheduled for The 15 January, a date that however had irritated the opposition quite a bit, who had accused the chancellor of only wanting postpone his fall, worsening the situation of a Germany already in economic recession.
Germany: Early elections as early as January-February?
According to the plan, Scholz has the power to decide when to go to the Bundestag to vote on the vote of confidence.
The date could be made official on Wednesday, when the Chancellor is expected to make a statement to Parliament. According to CDU leader Friedrich Merz, that would have been the occasion when Scholz should have asked for a vote of confidence. This will not be the case and at this point the Christian Democrats are pushing for him to do so. before the end of November. If Scholz decides to indulge them, Germany would go to the polls as early as January or February.
The chancellor, in fact, does not seem to have any chance of overcoming the confidence vote. At that point, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will have 21 days to dissolve the Bundestag and new elections must be held within 60 days of the closure of Parliament.
