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German president intends to dissolve Bundestag on December 27

On December 16, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz asked President Steinmeier to dissolve the Bundestag after the failure of the vote of confidence

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier

© AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

BERLIN, December 20. /TASS/. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier plans to dissolve the Bundestag (parliament) on December 27, Cerstin Gammelin, the president’s spokeswoman, reported on X.

"In recent days, I have held talks with representatives of factions and groups in the Bundestag in order to ensure that there is no prospect of forming a stable parliamentary majority for the German government," the spokeswoman quoted Steinmeier as saying. "I intend to make the decision to dissolve the Bundestag in accordance with Article 68 of the Basic Law [Constitution] on December 27, 2024," the president added.

On December 16, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz asked President Steinmeier to dissolve the Bundestag after the failure of the vote of confidence. Earlier, most German MPs at an extraordinary session refused to vote for a motion of confidence in Scholz, thus paving the way for early parliamentary elections. This was the sixth chancellor’s vote of confidence in the history of modern Germany.

The German president is required by law to dissolve the Bundestag within 21 days. The new elections are set to take place within 60 days after the parliament’s dissolution. Steinmeier has already approved the possible early elections on February 23, 2025. Based on their results, the new government will be formed, and a new chancellor will be elected.

Germany is undergoing an acute political crisis due to disagreements within the ruling coalition (the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Greens, and the Free Democratic Party) over budgetary, financial, and economic policies, including further support for Kiev and the issue of easing the so-called debt brake (a rule that prohibits spending more money from the budget than it receives). On November 6, Scholz decided to dismiss Finance Minister Christian Lindner (the Free Democratic Party). The coalition collapsed.

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