Scholz loses confidence vote, Germany heads to early elections
2024-12-16 17:53:38
TiranaPost
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence in the country's parliament on Monday, paving the way for the country to hold early elections at the end of February.
Scholz won the confidence of 207 lawmakers in the Bundestag, but 394 others voted against him, while 116 abstained.
He needed a majority of 367 votes to win the vote of confidence.
Scholz leads a minority government after his three-party ruling coalition collapsed on November 6 due to disagreements over how to revive the country's stalled economy.
Leaders of several major parties agreed to hold parliamentary elections on February 23, seven months earlier than the regular election time.
The vote of confidence was necessary because the German Constitution does not allow Parliament to dissolve itself.
It is now up to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to decide whether or not to dissolve the Bundestag and call new elections.
He has 21 days to make that decision, and once Parliament is dissolved, elections must be held within 60 days.
Polls show Scholz's party trailing the main opposition party, Friedrich Merz's Union bloc. Vice-President Robert Habeck, whose Greens are even further behind, will also run for chancellor.
The far-right Alternative for Germany party, which is rising in the polls, has nominated Alice Weidel for chancellor, but she is unlikely to win the post because other parties do not want to cooperate with the party.
