German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Hold Vote of Confidence on December 16

berlin - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to hold a vote of confidence on December 16, paving the way for potential new elections in February.

The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will hold a vote of confidence on December 16, as confirmed by his party following media reports. It is expected that the government will lose the vote, leading to the possibility of new elections in February. Initially, Scholz planned to hold the vote in mid-January, but the opposition deemed it too late. CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who is leading in the polls, wanted the Bundestag to express its opinion on the government earlier this week.

If Scholz's coalition indeed loses the vote, he will propose dissolving the Bundestag. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier would need to approve this and call for elections, likely to be held on February 23.

The so-called Traffic Light Coalition (Ampelkoalition) collapsed last week when Scholz fired his Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the FDP, leading the party to withdraw entirely from the cabinet.