Germany’s Scholz loses confidence vote

Early elections are now slated to be held on February 23

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in parliament on Monday, paving the way for snap elections early next year. The outcome was expected after Scholz’s government coalition collapsed in November over a budget dispute.

A total of 394 ballots were cast against Scholz, with 207 in his favor and 116 abstentions.

Scholz, who will now lead his Social Democratic Party (SPD) into the election in February, reportedly smiled when the result was announced and shook the hand of Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck.

Scholz has led the German government since December 2021, heading the so-called ‘traffic light’ coalition with the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). The coalition disintegrated last month, however, after Scholz dismissed his finance minister, Christian Lindner, over disagreements on economic and financial policies.

The chancellor called the vote of confidence shortly thereafter as a step toward securing early elections, which were originally scheduled for the fall of 2025. He is now expected to ask German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dissolve parliament and allow a general election. The new date is already set for February 23.

The SPD and Greens have remained as a de facto minority government, and will continue in this role until a new Bundestag is formed. However, they do not have the parliamentary majority needed to pass laws.

Scholz’s main political rival, Friedrich Merz, who heads the country’s largest opposition party, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and will be its candidate for chancellor in the next election, welcomed the result and accused Scholz of weak leadership. “It is embarrassing how you acted in the European Union,” Merz reportedly said.

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Scholz has seen his popularity slide, with polls showing a majority of Germans dissatisfied with his performance as chancellor, prompting some media outlets to brand him the “most unpopular chancellor of all time.” 

Germany’s economy has been shrinking over the past two years. On Friday, the country’s central bank slashed its growth forecast for next year to 0.2%, from the 1.1% it had predicted in June, citing further economic stagnation. The regulator said it now expects the economy to contract by 0.2% this year, having previously predicted modest growth of 0.3%.

This would mark a second consecutive year of decline, after GDP shrank by 0.3% in 2023. Last year’s contraction was attributed to persistent inflation, high energy prices, and weak foreign demand.

In the past, German chancellors and their parties have used confidence votes to strengthen their position in an election. The latest national opinion polls put support for the CDU/CSU at 32%, Alternative for Germany (AfD) at 18%, SPD at 16%, and the Greens with 14%.