German Government Coalition Collapses, Snap Elections Possible: Scholz Dismisses Finance Minister and Calls for Confidence Vote

Representatives of the three parties that make up Germany's centre-left government - the Social Democrats (SPD), the neo-liberal Free Democrats (FDP) and the Greens - met for a crisis meeting on Wednesday evening. For the first time in history, the tripartite alliance of the Federal Republic of Germany was out of control and could no longer be stabilised. After two hours of talks, Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) proposed early elections, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz refused and dismissed Lindner from his post. Scholz addressed the media at 21.15.

German Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said on Thursday that he supported Chancellor Olaf Scholz's decision to dismiss Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP).  Lindner has failed to complete the task of formulating the budget and has lost the respect of other cabinet members, Habeck said in a radio interview with public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.

In January, Scholz initiates a vote of no confidence in his government.

‘I have asked the federal president to dismiss the finance minister. Anyone who refuses to find a solution to this situation is acting irresponsibly. There are no grounds for trust. I have taken an oath: I will always think about the welfare of our entire country,’ Scholz said.

Since the FDP will not have a majority without the votes of the Scholz government, a failure of the confidence vote would pave the way for early Bundestag elections in March 2025.

Instead, today, the leaders of Germany's main opposition, the centre-right Christian Democratic Party (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), made statements in the Bundestag calling for a vote of no confidence and early elections. CSU parliamentary chairman Alexander Dobrindt said it was ‘disrespectful to the voters’ to wait until January to pass a vote of confidence in the government and until spring to hold new elections.