“The campaign starts now”summed up soberly the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz. The head of government in Berlin since 2021 requested, Monday, December 16, a vote of confidence in the Bundestag which he did not win: 394 deputies voted against confidence, 207 voted for and 116 abstained. This result will lead to the dissolution of the Bundestag by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, then to the calling of early legislative elections on February 23, 2025, more than six months before the date of September 28 initially planned.
By dismissing his finance minister, the liberal Christian Lindner (Liberal Democratic Party, FDP), on November 6, against a backdrop of disagreement over the budget, Olaf Scholz, 66, effectively broke up his tripartite coalition, made up of social -Democrats (SPD), Greens and FDP. But the chancellor had to formally submit to the “question of confidence” procedure for the Bundestag to be dissolved. This is very rarely used: it is the fifth time since 1945, and the first since 2005, under Gerhard Schröder (SPD).
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