German Chancellor Olaf Scholz loses a vote of no confidence, and elections are called for early next year

The German parliament accepted Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s call for no confidence in him and his government on Monday, paving the way for early elections on February 23, necessitated by the collapse of his government.

Schulz’s three-party coalition collapsed last month after the pro-market Free Democrats resigned in a row over debt, leaving the Social Democrats and Greens without a parliamentary majority as Germany faces a deep economic crisis.

Under rules designed to prevent the instability that facilitated the rise of fascism in the 1930s, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier cannot dissolve parliament and call an election unless the chancellor calls and loses a vote of confidence.

German Schulz rejects calls for a vote of no confidence with the collapse of the coalition government

The discussion leading up to the vote also opened up serious election campaigning, with party leaders exchanging barbs.

The chancellor and his conservative rival Friedrich Merz, who opinion polls indicate is likely to replace him, have traded accusations of incompetence and lack of vision.

Schulz, who will head a transitional government until a new government is formed, defended his record as a crisis leader who dealt with the economic and security emergency caused by Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

He said that if he gets a second term, he will invest heavily in the country Germany’s crumbling infrastructure Instead of making spending cuts, he said conservatives want them.

“Myopia may save money in the short term, but the mortgage on our future is unsustainable,” said Schulz, who served for four years as finance minister under a previous coalition with the conservatives before becoming chancellor in 2021.

German Chancellor Schulz warns the next European Commission president against flirting with supporting the extreme right

Merz told Scholz that the spending plans would burden future generations and accused him of failing to fulfill promises of rearmament after the war began. Ukraine war.

“Going into debt at the expense of the younger generation, spending money — and the word ‘competitiveness’ was not said once,” Mears said.

Neither mentioned the constitutional spending cap, a measure designed to ensure fiscal responsibility that many economists blame for Germany’s deteriorating infrastructure.

The Conservatives are clearly ahead in the opinion polls

The Conservatives enjoy a comfortable, if narrow, lead of more than 10 points over the Social Democrats in most opinion polls. The far-right Alternative for Germany party is slightly ahead of Schulz’s party, while the Green Party ranks fourth.

The main parties have refused to govern with the AfD, but its presence complicates parliamentary calculations, raising the possibility of unworkable coalitions.

Schultz identified a list of measures that could be approved with the support of the opposition before the elections, including $11 billion Tax deductions and an increase in child benefits already agreed upon by previous coalition partners.

The Conservatives also hinted that they might support measures to better protect the Constitutional Court from future populist or anti-democratic government machinations and an extension of the popular backed transport ticket.

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Measures to ease unintended burdens on taxpayers could also be passed if regional governments agree, but Merz rejected a green proposal to lower energy prices, saying he wanted a full deal. New energy policy.

That’s a worrying sign for German democracy, given the growing possibility in a divided political landscape that very different parties will be forced to govern together again, said Robert Habeck, the Green Party’s candidate for chancellor.

“It is unlikely to be easier for the next government,” Habeck said.

The leader of the Alternative for Germany party, Alice Weidel, called for the return of all Syrian refugees in Germany after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.