The German Chancellor blamed Finance Minister Kristan Lindner for the collapse of the ruling coalition – Germany is likely to face early elections.
Lindner represented the Free Democrats in the coalition. Without their votes, the vote of confidence could fail, opening the way to early elections to the Bundestag.
Olaf Scholz stated this while speaking to reporters. Earlier it became known that the chancellor dismissed Lindner from the VDP party. In his speech, Scholz accused Lindner of selfishness and short-term interests.
What will happen now? Federal Minister Lindner will be dismissed by the Federal President, Scholz said. — In the first week of the Bundestag session, I ask the question of confidence so that the Bundestag can vote on it on January 15th. This will allow MPs to decide whether they want to pave the way for early elections. These elections could take place before the end of March.
In the weeks when the Bundestag is in session until Christmas, Scholz wants to put to a vote all the laws that cannot be postponed. According to Scholz, these include the stabilization of pensions and immediate measures for industry.
Scholz said this about Lindner’s dismissal:
I feel obliged to take this step to prevent damage to the country. We need an effective government that is able to make the necessary decisions for our country. Too often Federal Minister Lindner blocked irrelevant legislation, too often he used narrow-minded partisan political tactics, too often he undermined my trust, Scholz said.
According to the chancellor, Lindner advocated cutting taxes for high-income earners and at the same time reducing pensions for all pensioners.
It’s indecent, it’s unfair,” he said.
The German Chancellor also announced his intention to meet with opposition leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) in the near future.
The centerpiece of the government talks is parliament’s adoption of the 2025 budget, which needs to fill a deficit of at least 2.4 billion euros, and potentially much more, and an agreement on measures to revive the country’s ailing economy.
Trump’s victory is expected to put significant pressure on Europe’s largest economy. The German Economic Institute (IW) estimates that a new trade war could cost Germany 180 billion euros over Trump’s four years in office.
Source: Racurs
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