German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had announced a confidence vote in parliament for January next year following the collapse of the 'traffic light' coalition government, reversed his position on the 10th (local time) under pressure from opposition parties and decided to hold the vote within this year. As a result, the early general election, previously estimated for March next year, is also expected to accelerate.
According to AFP and other sources, Chancellor Scholz stated in an interview with German ARD broadcasting on the same day that if major parties agree, he could request a confidence vote in parliament before Christmas this year. He said, "It will not be a problem for me," and "I also hope it will happen quickly."
This means the schedule could be moved up by more than three weeks from the previously announced January date. AFP reported that Scholz proposed to Rolf M?tzenich, the parliamentary leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), to hold talks with Friedrich Merz, leader of the main opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU), to discuss the timing of the confidence vote against him.
The traffic light coalition led by Scholz had effectively collapsed following the dismissal of Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who had clashed over economic policy. Scholz had previously suggested holding a confidence vote on January 15 next year, followed by an early general election in March. However, the opposition parties have insisted that the confidence vote should be moved up to within this year, citing the spread of political turmoil.
The prime minister's confidence vote is one of the procedures for an early general election. Since the ruling coalition no longer holds a majority in parliament due to the coalition collapse, the confidence vote is likely to be rejected. This will lead to the early dissolution of parliament and an early general election. The originally scheduled general election date is September next year.
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