The German president dissolves parliament and calls for early elections on February 23

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday ordered parliament to be dissolved and new elections scheduled for February 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition, saying it was the only way to give the country a stable government capable of addressing its problems. .

Schulz lost a vote of confidence on December 16 and leads a minority government. His unpopular and notoriously rancorous three-party coalition collapsed on November 6 when he sacked his finance minister over a dispute over how to revive Germany’s sluggish economy.

Steinmeier said he made the decision because it was clear after consulting party leaders that there was no agreement among German political parties on a majority to form a new government in the current parliament.

“It is precisely in such difficult times that stability requires a government capable of taking action and a reliable majority in parliament,” he said during his announcement in Berlin.

“Therefore, I am convinced that new elections are the right path for the benefit of our country.”

Since the post-World War II constitution did not allow the Bundestag to dissolve itself, it was up to Steinmeier to decide whether to dissolve Parliament and call elections. He had 21 days to make this decision. Once Parliament is dissolved, elections must be held within 60 days.

Leaders of several major parties had previously agreed that parliamentary elections should be held on February 23, seven months earlier than originally scheduled.

In practice, the campaign is already well underway. Opinion polls show that Schulz’s party is lagging behind the conservative opposition Union bloc led by Friedrich Merz.

Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck of the environmentalist Green Party, the remaining partner in Schulz’s government, is also seeking the top job – despite his party’s decline. If recent opinion polls hold up, Merz is likely to lead the next government as chancellor in a coalition with at least one other party.

Key issues include immigration, how to jumpstart the sluggish economy, and how best to help Ukraine in its struggle against Russia.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has strong votes in opinion polls, has nominated Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor, but he has no chance of taking the job because other parties refuse to work with him.

Traditionally, Germany’s electoral system produces coalitions, and opinion polls do not show any party approaching an absolute majority on its own. The elections are expected to be followed by weeks of negotiations to form a new government.

This is only the fourth time that the Bundestag has been dissolved ahead of schedule under Germany’s post-World War II constitution. It happened under Chancellor Willy Brandt in 1972, Helmut Kohl in 1982, and Gerhard Schröder in 2005. Schröder used a vote of confidence to engineer a snap election that center-right rival Angela Merkel narrowly won.