German Chancellor lost no-confidence vote in parliament as expected

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

DW reported that the German parliament voted no confidence in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government on December 16th. 394 MPs voted against the government, while 207 supported it and 116 abstained. To retain confidence, Scholz needs a majority vote (367 votes).

Prime Minister Olaf Scholz speaks in parliament on December 16.

In reality, this no-confidence vote was part of Scholz's plan. Scholz's ruling coalition lost its majority in parliament after the chancellor dismissed Finance Minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner over budget disagreements. This development prevented the minority government of the SDP and Green parties from passing major bills and a new budget, forcing Scholz to seek early elections. The crisis unfolded against the backdrop of a stagnant economy in the Western European nation.

According to the Financial Times , only the prime minister has the authority to propose a vote of no confidence, and this is the primary mechanism for dissolving parliament and holding early elections.

This power has been exercised five times since 1949, three of which led to early elections. In those three instances, Willy Brandt and Helmut Kohl won the subsequent elections and went on to become chancellors, while Gerhard Schroder lost to Angela Merkel in 2005.

Prior to the vote, several far-right AfD MPs said they would vote in favor of Scholz to prevent the chancellor's plan for an early election. Center-right CDU candidate Friedrich Merz is leading the race and supports supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine, while the AfD opposes it.

Prime Minister Olaf Scholz (right) meets with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier after a vote of no confidence.

However, surveys suggest that Merz is more likely to have to team up with Scholz's SDP or the Green Party to form a majority government.

Following procedure, the German Chancellor went to the presidential palace to ask President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dissolve parliament and allow general elections. The upcoming elections are 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