On Monday, members of the Bundestag passed a vote of no confidence in the government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Bavarian Radio reports.
“The chancellor put up a confidence vote in the Bundestag and lost it as planned. This means that the president will dissolve the parliament, and elections will be held in February,” the radio station notes.
394 MPs expressed no confidence in Scholz’s government, 207 supported the government, and 116 abstained.
Scholz himself had previously called for such a vote, as European media reported that it would allow him to hold early elections. Now, Scholz is expected to ask German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dissolve the Bundestag. If the parliament is dissolved, elections in Germany must be held within 60 days from the date of dissolution.
Earlier, Scholz, who heads the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), agreed with opposition parties on plans to hold early elections on February 23, 2025.
In November, the ruling coalition in Germany collapsed due to disagreements over Scholz’s economic policy.
At the same time, German parties are already preparing for early elections. The SPD leadership has decided to re-nominate Scholz as a candidate for chancellor. This decision still has to be approved by the party congress on January 11, 2025, but German media noted that this is just a formality. So far, the CDU leader Friedrich Merz, German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck from the Union 90/Greens party, and the head of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel have also been considered candidates for the chancellorship.
Earlier, the Experts Club think tank released a video review of the most important elections in the world – https://youtu.be/73DB0GbJy4M?si=k5LDANC7lkpbK0Nh
