German parliament gears up for crucial vote on Scholz's fate
On Monday, a roll-call vote on the vote of confidence for Chancellor Olaf Scholz will take place in the Bundestag. It will be preceded by an address from the head of the government and a discussion.
2:44 PM EST, December 15, 2024
The chancellor is counting on the rejection of the motion by the parliament, which would pave the way for early elections. If Scholz, as planned, loses the vote, he will ask the President of Germany to dissolve the parliament. Frank-Walter Steinmeier will then have 21 days to make a decision.
The president had previously signaled his readiness to end the Bundestag's term early. The accelerated elections are set to be held on February 23.
Scholz's decision is an attempt to break the deadlock caused by the removal of Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the Free Democratic Party (FDP) from the coalition government in early November.
The downfall of the cabinet was caused by a difference of opinion between the SPD and the Greens versus the FDP regarding the budget deficit's size and ways of financing it. The FDP's exit from the coalition led to the government losing its majority. Initially, Scholz intended to wait with the motion for confidence until next year, but opposition pressure prompted him to act sooner.
In the polls, the largest opposition bloc, the CDU/CSU with Friedrich Merz as the chancellor candidate, currently has a decisive lead. For months, support for the two Christian Democratic parties has fluctuated between 30 and 34 percent, while the SPD garners support from 15 to 18 percent of voters. The Greens enjoy support ranging from 10 to 14 percent of the electorate, while the FDP hovers around the 5 percent electoral threshold.
According to polls, the second strongest party in Germany is the Alternative for Germany (AfD), but all other parties exclude cooperation with this right-wing populist and pro-Russian group.
