German president calls early election after Scholz coalition collapses

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has officially dissolved parliament and called for new elections on February 23, following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition.

Scholz's three-party coalition, already fraught with tensions, unravelled on November 6 after the firing of his finance minister over disagreements on revitalizing Germany’s struggling economy, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media sources.

The loss of a confidence vote on December 16 left Scholz leading a minority government. This led political leaders to agree on an early election, seven months ahead of schedule.

Under Germany's post-World War II constitution, the Bundestag could not dissolve itself, and it was up to Steinmeier to decide whether to call for new elections. After 21 days of deliberation, he made the decision to dissolve parliament. Once done, an election must occur within 60 days, hence the February 23 vote.

The campaign is already heating up. Polls show Scholz’s Social Democrats trailing the conservative Union bloc, led by Friedrich Merz. Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck of the Greens, the last remaining partner in Scholz’s coalition, is also vying for the top position but is far behind in the polls. If the trends continue, Merz is expected to form the next government, possibly in coalition with one or more parties.

Key issues dominating the campaign include immigration, efforts to boost the economy, and support for Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia. The populist, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) has also seen strong polling, with Alice Weidel nominated as its chancellor candidate. However, the AfD faces a significant barrier as other parties have ruled out working with them.

Germany’s mixed electoral system typically results in coalition governments, and no party is currently expected to secure an absolute majority. Therefore, post-election negotiations will likely stretch for weeks before a new government can be formed.

This marks only the fourth time in Germany’s post-war history that the Bundestag has been dissolved ahead of schedule. Previous instances occurred under Chancellors Willy Brandt in 1972, Helmut Kohl in 1982, and Gerhard Schröder in 2005, when Schröder used a confidence vote to call an early election, which narrowly resulted in a win for Angela Merkel’s centre-right party.

By Tamilla Hasanova