Germany faces early elections as coalition collapses

On Wednesday, several events in the West could be described as a "political earthquake." The first was Donald Trump's victory in the race to the White House, and the second was the dismissal of Finance Minister and FDP coalition leader Christian Lindner by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The collapse of the coalition government makes early elections in Germany almost certain. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier addressed the issue.

"The end of the coalition is not the end of the world. This is a political crisis that we must leave behind and will leave behind," said Steinmeier, emphasizing that German democracy is strong and that the Basic Law contains clear guidelines for further actions.

The German president declared that he is ready to decide to dissolve the Bundestag to allow parliamentary elections to be held. "The country needs a stable majority and a government capable of action," he noted.

Since 2021, Germany has been governed by a three-party coalition of SPD, Greens, and FDP, but it collapsed on Wednesday following the resignation of Christian Lindner from the FDP. Olaf Scholz argued that the issue was a divergence of opinions on economic and budgetary policies.

This decision deprived the government of its majority in the Bundestag. Scholz announced that he would put his government to a vote of confidence and then call elections.

President Steinmeier also referred to Donald Trump's victory over Kamala Harris on this occasion. He stated that "this is not a time for tactics and skirmishes," but "a time for reason and responsibility". He expressed the expectation that all responsible parties will be able to meet the scale of the challenges.