"Don't stick to the office"

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"No problem at all": German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is not ruling out a vote of confidence before Christmas.

(Bild: AFP)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is backing away from his original plan to only vacate his post as head of government in the spring. "It is not a problem at all for me to call a vote of confidence before Christmas if everyone agrees," said the SPD politician on Sunday evening.

"I'm not clinging to my office," the German Chancellor emphasized in an interview with ARD television.

Following the collapse of the "Ampel" coalition, Scholz was called upon by the conservative CDU/CSU and former coalition partner FDP to allow new elections to be held quickly.

Scholz confident of winning new elections
At the same time, Scholz expressed confidence that he could win the early parliamentary elections. In the interview, Scholz once again rejected responsibility for the end of the traffic light coalition.

If it is over, then it must also be over.

Deutschlands Bundeslanzler Olaf Scholz (SPD)

He had not provoked FDP leader Christian Lindner in the dispute over the budget, but rather fought to the end to preserve the coalition. "I put up with the fact that I repeatedly put on a good face for the sake of compromise and cooperation, sometimes even a rather nasty one. But when it's over, it has to be over," he said.

Scholz defends settlement with FDP leader
Scholz also defended his public reckoning with Lindner after he had announced his dismissal. "It was decent, clear and straightforward and very understandable for all citizens," he said. There had often been calls for him to be on the table more often. Without his efforts to reach compromises, the government would not have lasted so long.

FDP leader Christian Lindner

(Bild: APA/AFP/Odd Andersen)

Bundestag: no power to dissolve itself
Although his government, which now only consists of the SPD and the Greens, no longer has a majority in the Bundestag, Scholz is sitting relatively well in the saddle. In Germany, a chancellor can only be removed from office by electing a successor with an absolute majority - or by the incumbent head of government himself calling a vote of confidence and losing it. This is also the only way to hold early elections. The Bundestag does not have the power to dissolve itself.

U-turn by Scholz
Scholz originally wanted to delay the vote of confidence until January so that elections would not be held until March. Until then, he wanted to pass a series of reforms that he felt were urgently needed. However, he would need support from the ranks of the opposition.

Conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz has shown a willingness to talk about this, but only after Scholz has called a vote of confidence.