Olaf Scholz declares open to early elections

Faced with growing pressure, Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared himself open on Friday to discussions to accelerate the holding of early elections in Germany after the fall of his government coalition.

This is the first time he has spoken on the subject since the thunderbolt on Wednesday evening, when he announced the dismissal of Liberal Finance Minister Christian Lindner and his intention to submit to a vote of confidence by MPs. on January 15.

Under this schedule, early legislative elections could not take place before March. But calls are increasing for them to be held earlier, if possible in January. Europe’s largest economy is on the verge of recession and fears the consequences of Donald Trump’s return to power.

Speaking in Budapest on the sidelines of a European summit, Olaf Scholz hinted at the possibility of a deal with opposition parties, first and foremost the conservatives, if they agreed to support certain pending bills. .

He called on MPs for a “calm debate” on the texts that can still be approved by Parliament, even if his government is now a minority, supported only by the Social Democrats and the Greens. This “could help answer the question of when is the right time” for a vote of confidence leading to early elections, he added.

The social democratic leader, in power since the end of 2021, recognized that “new elections must take place quickly”. According to a poll published Friday, two-thirds of Germans aspire to new elections without delay. “Chancellor, give way!” wrote the editor-in-chief of “Bild”, Germany’s most widely read newspaper, in an editorial.

In Budapest, the chancellor said he felt “a lot of solidarity” from his European peers. “Many have tapped me on the shoulder. Many have experience of coalition governments and know that it is more and more difficult (…),” he said.

On his return to Germany, he will find a country in full electoral excitement. At the forefront, the leader of the CDU conservatives, Friedrich Merz, omnipresent in the media.

“Let Scholz ask the question of confidence next week” during a declaration planned for Wednesday, said the 68-year-old leader, who would have a good chance of becoming chancellor in the event of elections. A possibility, however, rejected at this stage by a spokesperson for Scholz. In the magazine “Stern”, Merz calls for elections on January 19, one day before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Polls credit the CDU and its Bavarian ally CSU with around 34% of the vote, ahead of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). As he no longer has a sufficient parliamentary majority to govern, Olaf Scholz is expected to lose the vote of confidence.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will then have 21 days to dissolve the Bundestag and new elections must take place within 60 days.

On the side of the Greens, Scholz’s only remaining ally, preparations are also going well. Vice-Chancellor and Minister of the Economy Robert Habeck announced, in a video shot in his kitchen, his entry into the running to lead the country so that Germany “puts its strength at the service of Europe”.

A profession of faith greeted with sarcasm by Friedrich Merz who joked about “a candidate for chancellor with 9% voting intentions”.

But the leader of the conservatives must also expect a very complicated coalition formation in the event of victory in the elections, because he rejects any alliance with the AfD (around 17-18%).

The SPD (16%), the Greens, and possibly the liberals of the FDP, former allies of Scholz, will remain as possible allies if they manage to collect 5% of the votes.