Wild verbal battles

New elections fixed: Scholz loses vote of confidence

(Bild: APA Pool/dpa/Michael Kappeler)

As expected, Germany's Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost the vote of confidence in the German Bundestag on Monday. This clears the way for the dissolution of the Bundestag and new elections. There was a passionate debate beforehand.

In the vote on the vote of confidence, 207 MPs voted for Scholz, 394 against him and 116 abstained, as Bundestag President Bärbel Bas announced. As intended, the Chancellor therefore fell well short of the required majority of at least 367 votes.

Bas ended the historic session with the words: "We are at the end of the road, including the traffic light." The vote was preceded by wild verbal battles. The outgoing Chancellor of the SPD used his speaking time to present his election program and for poison darts in the direction of the FDP.

The debt brake as a sticking point
Scholz's "traffic light" coalition collapsed on November 6 in a dispute over the debt brake, when Scholz dismissed Finance Minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner. Lindner had opposed the suspension of the debt brake.

Olaf Scholz defended his policy.

(Bild: AFP/John MACDOUGALL)

Scholz now accused the Free Democrats of "weeks of sabotaging the government". "The denial of reality must stop," said Scholz. "Politics is not a game. Entering a government requires the necessary moral maturity," said the Chancellor, without specifically naming the FDP and its ministers.

The SPD politician's appearance was met with criticism. CDU leader Friedrich Merz worked for minutes on Scholz. His attacks against the FDP were "disrespectful and a sheer impertinence", but fit into the overall picture. "You are embarrassing Germany, the way you are moving in European politics is shameful."

Lindner was also harsh on Scholz, saying that the coalition with the traffic light system had failed to find common answers to the problems in Germany because the Federal Chancellor had "denied crises and refused to realign himself".

The FDP leader criticized Scholz's economic policy. In particular, the proposed reduction in VAT on food was unnecessary. Such a step would cost billions of euros, but would not secure or create any jobs. "Prince Carnival may hand out carnival doughnuts on Shrove Monday, but the Federal Republic of Germany must not be governed in this way."

The ball is in the Federal President's court
Scholz went to Bellevue Palace immediately after the meeting and will propose to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier that the Bundestag be dissolved. He will then have 21 days to decide whether he agrees and call a new election within 60 days.

As there is broad agreement in the Bundestag that the federal election originally scheduled for September 28, 2025 should be brought forward, Steinmeier's approval is considered certain. The early federal election is scheduled for February 23.