After collapse of Olaf Scholz’s coalition, elections will take place on February 23, seven months ahead of schedule.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has lost a confidence vote in the Parliament, triggering the a snap election seven months ahead of schedule.
The vote on Monday came after Scholz’s fragile coalition collapsed, sparking a political crisis in the European Union’s largest economy.
Scholz won the support of 207 lawmakers in the 733-seat lower house, or Bundestag, while 394 voted against him and 116 abstained. That left him far short of the majority of 367 needed to win.
The vote for a new parliament will take vote on February 23.
The governing coalition, consisiting of three political party was shaken after Scholz fired his finance minister Christian Lindner in November.
Lindner’s pro-business Free Democrats then quit the three-way coalition government, robbing Scholz of a ruling majority.
Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Green Party will continue running the country without parliamentary backing until a new government is formed.
Monday’s dramatic development came after months of infighting over fiscal priorities and debt spending.
Scholz, who previously served as finance minister before becoming the head of a new government in 2021, accused the Free Democrats of wanting to block investment in Germany.
He has framed the snap election as an opportunity for voters to set a new course, casting it as a choice between a future of growth versus one of austerity.
Given a second term, Scholz said he would invest heavily in Germany’s creaking infrastructure, not make the spending cuts he said the conservatives wanted.
Scholz and his right-wing challenger Friedrich Merz, who polls suggest is likely to replace him, clashed in a debate ahead of the vote, accusing each other with incompetence.
“Shortsightedness might save money in the short term, but the mortgage on our future is unaffordable,” Scholz told lawmakers.
Merz told Scholz that his spending plans would burden future generations, and accused the chancellor of failing to deliver on promises of rearmament following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The conservatives have a comfortable, albeit narrowing lead of more than 10 points over the SPD in most polls.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is slightly ahead of Scholz’s party, while the Greens are in fourth place.
The mainstream parties have refused to govern with the AfD, but its presence complicates parliamentary politics, making unwieldy three-way coalitions like Scholz’s more likely.
Meanwhile, the chancellor has outlined a list of urgent measures that he could pass before the election, including 11 billion euros of tax cuts and an increase in child benefits.