Parliament expresses lack of confidence in Scholz
Bundestag paves way for new elections - expected to take place on 23 February.
Berlin (dpa) - A good three years after taking office, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz is calling a vote of confidence in the Bundestag with a view to bringing about new Bundestag elections on 23 February. On the basis of Article 68 of the Basic Law, he is calling on the members of parliament to express their confidence in him.
Once he has lost the vote, as is to be expected, the chancellor will go to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and ask him to dissolve the Bundestag. Steinmeier then has 21 days in which to decide whether to agree to this and set a date for new elections within 60 days. There is widespread agreement in the Bundestag that the Bundestag elections that were originally scheduled to take place on 28 September 2025 should be brought forward - the date for this that has been agreed on by the major parties is 23 February. However, this decision is taken by the German president.
Until the elections, the red-green minority government led by Chancellor Scholz will remain in office. If important decisions need to be taken in the meantime, the biggest opposition party - the CDU/CSU - has promised its cooperation.
In a named vote, the majority will vote against the chancellor, expressing their lack of confidence in him. 207 members of the Bundestag vote for Scholz, while 394 vote against him. 733 parliamentarians have a seat in the Bundestag.