German Chancellor loses no-confidence vote in parliament as expected

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was voted out of confidence by parliament on December 16, paving the way for early elections in February 2025 as he intended.

DW reported that the German parliament voted no confidence in the coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz on December 16. 394 MPs voted against the government, 207 supported it, and 116 abstained. To continue to be trusted, Mr. Scholz needs a majority of votes (367 votes).

Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks in parliament on December 16.

In fact, this vote of no confidence was part of Scholz's plan. His ruling coalition lost its majority in parliament after the chancellor fired the finance minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner over a budget dispute. The development left the minority government of the SDP and the Greens unable to pass major bills and a new budget, forcing Scholz to seek early elections. The crisis occurred in the context of the stagnant economy of the Western European country.

According to the Financial Times , only the prime minister has the right to propose a vote of no confidence and it is the main mechanism to dissolve parliament and call early elections.

This right has been used five times since 1949, three of which led to early elections. On those three occasions, Willy Brandt and Helmut Kohl won the subsequent elections and went on to become chancellor, while Gerhard Schroder lost to Angela Merkel in 2005.

Ahead of the vote, some AfD lawmakers said they would vote in favour of Mr Scholz to block the chancellor’s plans for an early election. The centre-right CDU candidate Friedrich Merz is leading the race and supports supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine, which the AfD opposes.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (right) meets President Frank-Walter Steinmeier after being voted out of office

However, polls show that Mr Merz is likely to have to join hands with Mr Scholz's SDP or the Greens to form a majority government.

As a matter of procedure, the German Chancellor went to the presidential palace to ask President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dissolve parliament and call for general elections. The next election is scheduled for February 23, 2025.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thu-tuong-duc-bi-quoc-hoi-bo-phieu-bat-tin-nhiem-nhu-mong-muon-185241216232330333.htm