Germany's coalition government collapses after key minister is sacked
Chancellor Olaf Scholz claimed Christian Lindner had broken his trust and dismissed him as finance minister, paving the way for an early election.
Thursday 7 November 2024 00:37, UK
Germany's ruling coalition has collapsed, triggering political chaos in Europe's largest economy.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is now expected to head a minority government with his Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Greens.
It comes after Mr Scholz sacked finance minister Christian Lindner, who leads the third coalition partner, the pro-business Free Democrats Party (FDP), on Wednesday night.
The chancellor has said he plans to hold a confidence vote in his government on 15 January. The result could trigger early elections by the end of March.
Mr Scholz's decision to sack Mr Lindner followed weeks of disputes among Germany's coalition partners over ways to boost the country's ailing economy.
Added to that, the government's popularity has been sinking while far-right and far-left forces have been surging.
He said Mr Lindner "has broken my trust too often", and claimed he was focused on the short-term survival of his own party. "This kind of selfishness is utterly incomprehensible," he added.
Two of the three other FDP ministers - for justice and education - voluntarily left the government. The third, the minister for transport, opted to stay in office and leave the party.
"Olaf Scholz refuses to recognise that our country needs a new economic model," Mr Lindner said. "Olaf Scholz has showed he doesn't have the strength to give his country a new boost."
It's not if, but when, the coalition collapses
The German Chancellor is a controlled man, so the uncharacteristic anger on display as he announced he had sacked his finance minister and fixed a vote of confidence for January was telling.
The fractures in Germany's coalition government have been widening for months.
The ailing economy, dismal showing in the European parliamentary elections and rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) have led to growing questions about when the coalition will collapse, rather than if it will.
Germany's general election is currently pencilled in for September 2025 but if Olaf Scholz loses the confidence vote on 15 January, then a snap election is likely to take place by the end of March.
Current polls put the party of the former Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), in the lead followed by the AfD.
Using today's numbers, the most likely scenario would be another coalition government potentially with the CDU, the social democrats and maybe even the Greens.
But all this is jumping ahead.
The hammer blow to the German government coalition on the day Donald Trump was re-elected is a coincidence but it's also very bad timing.
The return of Trump raises questions around NATO, the war in Ukraine and possible trade wars in the future.
Europe now more than ever needs to be united; a task made more difficult when the leadership of its largest economic power is in crisis.
Mr Lindner had rejected tax increases or changes to Germany's strict self-imposed limits on running up debt.
The Social Democrats and the Greens want to see massive state investment. They had rejected proposals by the FDP to cut welfare programmes.
It leaves Mr Scholz relying on parliamentary majorities to pass legislation.
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Scholz said he would ask Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative opposition CDU, who are far ahead in polls, for support in passing the budget and boosting military spending.
But Mr Merz has rejected Scholz's plan to wait to hold a vote of confidence until January.
"The coalition no longer has a majority in the German Bundestag, and we therefore call on the chancellor ... to call a vote of confidence immediately, or at the latest by the beginning of next week," he said on Thursday.
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Across 2024, Germany's economy is expected to shrink - or at best flatline - for the second year in a row.
The country has struggled under external shocks and home-grown problems, including red tape and a shortage of skilled labour.