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Germany\u2019s\u00a0government coalition has collapsed in dramatic fashion after Chancellor Olaf Scholz\u00a0fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner\u00a0of the pro-business Free Democrats in a late-night move following a marathon of crisis meetings.<\/p>\n
The three remaining ministers of the Free Democrats resigned in response, leading to the downfall of the government coalition. Scholz is expected to lead the country with a minority government, but the opposition is calling for an immediate no-confidence vote.<\/p>\n
But early Thursday, Transport Minister Volker Wissing from the Free Democrats unexpectedly took back last night\u2019s resignation and told reporters that after talking to Scholz, he had decided to stay on as minister and leave the party instead.<\/p>\n
Lindner will receive his certificate of dismissal from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday afternoon and, to ensure a smooth transition, a successor will likely be named right after. German news agency dpa reported that J\u00f6rg Kukies, an economic adviser to Scholz, will become the next finance minister.<\/p>\n
The posts of the research and justice ministers who resigned may also be filled Thursday, dpa reported.<\/p>\n
Scholz announced late Wednesday that he would seek a vote of confidence on Jan. 15 that he said might lead to an early election as soon as March \u2014 which otherwise would have been be due next September.<\/p>\n
Scholz had accused Lindner of breaching his trust and publicly calling for a fundamentally different economic policy, including what the chancellor said would be tax cuts worth billions for a few top earners while at the same time cutting pensions for all retirees.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not decent,\u201d Scholz said.<\/p>\n
Scholz\u2019s left-leaning Social Democrats will now effectively lead a minority government with the remaining coalition partner, the environmentalist Greens.<\/p>\n
The chancellor announced late Wednesday that he would reach out to the leader of the biggest opposition leader in parliament, Friedrich Merz from the center-right Christian Democrats, to confer on possible ways of strengthening the economy and defense, and passing important legislation through parliament.<\/p>\n
But Merz on Thursday vehemently rejected Scholz\u2019s plan to wait to hold a vote of confidence until January.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe coalition no longer has a majority in the German Bundestag, and we therefore call on the chancellor (…) to call a vote of confidence immediately, or at the latest by the beginning of next week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe simply cannot afford to have a government without a majority in Germany for several months now, and then campaign for several more months, and then possibly conduct coalition negotiations for several weeks,\u201d Merz added.<\/p>\n
He said he was planning to meet with Scholz later Thursday to push for a quick vote of confidence.<\/p>\n
Since Scholz\u2019s government doesn\u2019t have a majority in parliament any longer, he would likely lose the vote. In that scenario, Germany\u2019s president could dissolve parliament within 21 days and an early election could then be held as soon as January.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring these 21 days, we will have enough time to find out whether there are any issues that we may have to decide on together,\u201d Merz said, offering his party\u2019s cooperation with the minority government. \u201cWe are, of course, prepared to hold talks (..) we are also prepared to take responsibility for our country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, pushing through new legislation and plugging the billion-euro hole in the 2025 budget won\u2019t become easier for Scholz\u2019s Social Democrats and the Greens as their government no longer has a majority in parliament. But Scholz has said his government needed that time to pass important legislation.<\/p>\n
Achim Wambach from the Leibniz Center for European Economic Research cast doubt that a prolonged period with a minority government would help Germany\u2019s economy get back on track.<\/p>\n
\u201cGermany\u2019s problems are too big to tolerate political gridlock,\u201d the analyst said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government set out to reconcile the transformation towards climate neutrality with economic growth and social security,\u201d the analyst said in a statement. \u201cIt has not lived up to this claim. The economy is stagnating and investments are failing to materialize.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis daunting task was compounded by geo-economic tensions: wars in Europe and the Middle East as well as economically damaging interventions through tariffs and national subsidy policies,\u201d he added. \u201c\u00a0The election of Donald Trump\u00a0has exacerbated these problems. Europe must do more for its security and will have to reckon with increased tariffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The collapse of the coalition came after weeks of disputes\u00a0among the coalition partners\u00a0over ways to boost the country\u2019s ailing economy.<\/p>\n
Lindner\u2019s pro-business Free Democrats had rejected tax increases or changes to Germany\u2019s strict self-imposed limits on running up debt. Scholz\u2019s Social Democrats and the Greens wanted to see major state investment and rejected the Free Democrats\u2019 proposals to cut welfare programs.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n