German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has declared himself ready, under conditions, to submit to a vote of confidence by deputies this year 2024 with a view to accelerating the organization of early legislative elections, after the explosion of his government coalition.
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“ It’s not a problem for me to ask the question of trust before Christmas » in the Bundestag, if the ruling Social Democratic Party and the conservative opposition agree on this, said the Chancellor German Olaf Scholz, Sunday November 10, in an interview on public television ARD. A few days earlier, he had mentioned the date of January 15 to raise the question of confidence with legislative elections at the end of March.
“ Let it go quickly »
“ I also want this to go quickly “, he also declared. “ Germany urgently needs a new democratically legitimized government “, he added. After the vote of confidence, which Mr. Scholz is expected to lose, no longer having a sufficient majority in Parliament, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will have 21 days to dissolve the Bundestag and new elections must take place within 60 days.
Since the explosion on Wednesday, November 6, of the government coalition initially formed of Mr. Scholz’s social democrats, environmentalists and liberals, due to deep disagreements over economic policy, pressure is mounting on the chancellor to quickly organize elections. Calls have multiplied for legislative elections to be held as soon as possible, while the challenges are numerous for the largest European economy, on the verge of recession and which fears the consequences of a return of Donald Trump at the head of states -United.
In an interview with the weekly Sternthe candidate for the conservatives for the chancellery, Friedrich Merzhad called on Mr. Scholz to seek a vote of confidence on Wednesday, the day the chancellor planned to make a government declaration in the Bundestag. Mr. Merz also called for elections on January 19, while his party is leading in the polls. The man has made the rapid holding of a vote of confidence in the Bundestag a precondition for his party to lend its support for a whole series of important bills, which Mr. Scholz’s government wants to pass through Parliament before the elections.
The SPD at 15%
On Monday, the federal director of elections, Ruth Brand, is due to hold a virtual meeting with her regional colleagues, with the aim of studying the organization of the vote. According to a survey published this November 10 in the German weekly Bild am Sonntag carried out by the Insa institute, the conservatives remain the largest political force with an unchanged score of 32%, followed by the far-right AfD at 19%. Scholz’s SPD comes in behind at 15%. The two other members of Mr. Scholz’s ex-coalition are credited with 10% for the Greens and 4% for the Liberals, i.e. below the threshold of 5% necessary to remain in the Bundestag.
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