On Friday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier ordered to dissolve the Parliament and set new elections on 23 February 2025, seven months earlier than originally planned. The decision is taken due to the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government.
Social democrat Olaf Scholz ended his three-party alliance with the Greens and Free Democrats when he sacked FDP Finance Minister Christian Linder in a dispute over government borrowing. In the 733 seat Bundestag, Scholz secured only 207 votes in his favour with 395 voting against him and 116 abstaining, far short of 367 votes needed for a majority.
Therefore, He lost confidence vote on 16 December 2024. According to post-World War 2 constitution it was up to Mr. Steinmeier to decide whether to dissolve the parliament and call an election. Once parliament is dissolved, the elections must be held within 60 days.
Several party leaders reached a consensus to conduct parliamentary elections on 23 February. Its only the fourth time that the Bundestag has been dissolved ahead of schedule under Germany’s post-Second World War constitution.
It happened under Chancellor Willy Brandt in 1972, Helmut Kohl in 1982 and Gerhard Schroeder in 2005. Schroeder used the confidence vote to engineer an early election narrowly won by center-right challenger Angela Merkel.
