Oleg Davygora23:09, 06.11.24

Early elections in Germany could take place as early as March next year.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has fired Finance Minister Lindner, the leader of the Free Democratic Party, which is part of the government coalition. Without the Free Democrats, the coalition does not have a majority in the Bundestag, Spiegel reports .

An internal SPD document indicates the end of the ruling coalition in Germany. The text of the document is in the possession of BILD.

“Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made a strategic decision for the country. The FDP (Free Democratic Party) has left the government,” the text says.

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck announced the collapse of the ruling coalition.

“Of course, we know that the traffic light government does not have the best reputation, and we have often argued. However, on a day like this, this decision seems wrong, almost tragic,” said Minister of Economy and Climate Affairs Habeck.

The Green leader placed the blame on former finance minister and Free Democratic Party leader Christian Lindner.

“It was not possible to close the budget deficit, although possible solutions were on the table,” Habeck said.

Scholz will also raise the question of confidence in himself at the Bundestag vote, which will take place on January 15. The German Chancellor announced this in his address after the coalition committee meeting. Without the votes of the liberals, whose leader Scholz dismissed from the post of head of the Ministry of Finance earlier that day, he will not be able to obtain such confidence. This means the imminent dissolution of the Bundestag. Early elections in Germany could take place as early as March next year, writes  DW.

“We need a functioning government,” Scholz said in his address, stressing that he was preventing harm to the country.

Scholz devoted a significant part of his speech to criticizing Christian Lindner, saying that he had too often undermined his trust. Lindner, according to the chancellor, does not serve the common good, but “his clientele and the party.”

The 2025 budget and measures to improve the German economy have triggered a sharp conflict within the “traffic light” coalition. On Wednesday, November 6, its leaders met in an attempt to work out a compromise on economic reforms in the country.

Chairman of the Free Democrats and German Finance Minister Christian Lindner proposed that his coalition partners agree to hold early parliamentary elections in the country at the beginning of 2025. In this case, as the media writes, he would be ready to accept an additional budget for Germany for 2024 and remain in the transitional cabinet until parliamentary elections are held and a new federal government of Germany is formed. In response, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Lindner’s dismissal.

(c)UNIAN 2024