Scholz urged to trigger snap vote after coalition collapses

German chancellor under pressure after he sacks minister

- RACHEL HAGAN

Opposition parties and businesses in Germany have called for new elections to be held as soon as possible after the three-way coalition government collapsed, plunging the country into political turmoil. They are urging an immediate vote of confidence in chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition “by the beginning of next week at the latest”.

The collapse of Mr Scholz’s coalition government, triggered by his decision to fire finance minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats (FDP) over a dispute about how to plug a multibillion euro hole in the country’s budget, has left Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens without a parliamentary majority.

Mr Scholz delayed his departure for yesterday’s European Union summit in Budapest due to the crisis at home and cancelled his attendance at the next United Nations climate change summit.

Mr Scholz, of the centre-left SPD, said he fired his finance minister from the fiscally conservative FDP for opposing his plan to suspend the debt brake again in order to raise more funds for Ukraine and the economy.

The break-up creates a leadership vacuum at the heart of Europe just as it seeks to form a united response to the election of Republican Donald Trump to a second term as US president on issues ranging from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the future of the Nato alliance, to possible new US trade tariffs.