BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dramatically fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the pro-business Free Democrats in a late-night move following a marathon of crisis meetings. This led to the resignation of the three remaining Free Democrat ministers, effectively causing the collapse of the coalition government.
In a surprising turn of events, Transport Minister Volker Wissing from the Free Democrats reversed his resignation early Thursday morning. After speaking with Scholz, Wissing decided to remain in his position but leave the party instead.
Lindner is set to receive his dismissal certificate from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday afternoon. To ensure a smooth transition, a successor will likely be named shortly afterward. The positions of the research and justice ministers who resigned may also be filled the same day, according to German news agency dpa.
Scholz announced late Wednesday that he would seek a vote of confidence on January 15, which could potentially lead to an early election as soon as March, though elections were originally scheduled for September. Scholz accused Lindner of breaching his trust and publicly calling for a fundamentally different economic policy, which, according to Scholz, would involve tax cuts for the wealthy while cutting pensions for retirees. “That is not decent,” Scholz stated.
With the collapse of the coalition, Scholz’s left-leaning Social Democrats will now effectively lead a minority government with the remaining coalition partner, the environmentalist Greens. The Chancellor also announced he would reach out to the leader of the opposition, Friedrich Merz from the center-right Christian Democrats, to discuss ways to strengthen the economy and defense and pass key legislation.
However, Merz rejected Scholz’s plan to wait until January for a vote of confidence. He called for an immediate vote, or at the latest, one by the beginning of next week, suggesting that an early election could take place in January. “We simply cannot afford to have a government without a majority in Germany for several months, followed by campaigning and possibly weeks of coalition negotiations,” Merz added.
With the government no longer holding a majority in the Bundestag, pushing through new legislation, including measures to address a billion-euro shortfall in the 2025 budget, will be increasingly difficult for Scholz’s Social Democrats and the Greens.
The coalition’s collapse followed weeks of disputes over how to address Germany’s struggling economy. The Free Democrats had rejected tax increases and changes to the country’s strict debt limits, while Scholz’s Social Democrats and the Greens pushed for significant state investment and opposed the Free Democrats’ proposals to cut welfare programs.
