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Germany schedules parliamentary elections for February 23

According to the media, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz intends to hold a vote of confidence in the government in the Bundestag as early as December 16, paving the way for early elections

BERLIN, November 12. /TASS/. The conservative bloc of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CDU/SDU), the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Greens have agreed on a date for the early parliamentary elections, scheduling it for February 23, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported citing sources in the CDU/SDU.

According to the article, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz intends to hold a vote of confidence in the government in the Bundestag as early as December 16, paving the way for early elections. If the chancellor loses the vote, which is very likely given the current composition of parliament, the president will be obliged by law to dissolve the Bundestag within 21 days. The new elections are supposed to take place within 60 days after the parliament’s dissolution. The president has the final say regarding the date of the election, but he usually listens to suggestions from all parties.

Earlier, some conservatives threatened to block parliament’s work until Scholz holds a vote of confidence in his government. The CDU/SDU bloc even demanded that Scholz schedule it as soon as this week, but social democrats and the chancellor nixed that proposal. Amid all this, Scholz intends to push a number of bills through the Bundestag before the end of this year.

German politics are facing a crisis due to disagreements within the ruling coalition over budgetary, financial, and economic policies. Key issues of concern also include further aid to Kiev and the potential weakening of the debt brake rule, which restricts the government from spending more than it brings in. On November 6, Chancellor Scholz decided to sack Finance Minister Lindner, after which the ruling coalition collapsed.

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