German Minister to Leave FDP to Stay in Cabinet: 'I Do Not Distance Myself from the Core Values of My Party'

berlin - German Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing, announces decision to leave his party FDP in order to remain in the cabinet following party's split with the coalition.

German Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing, has announced his intention to remain in the cabinet despite his party FDP's break with the coalition. Wissing made the decision to leave his party in order to continue serving in the cabinet, as revealed on Thursday morning.

The liberal FDP had announced late on Wednesday that all ministers would be withdrawing from the cabinet. The party leader and Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner, had been dismissed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz shortly before this. As a result, the coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD) of Scholz and the Greens has dissolved.

Wissing's decision to stay on is described by him as a personal choice. 'I do not distance myself from the core values of my party with this decision, and I will not join another party,' he stated according to the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine.

The SPD and the Greens now intend to continue with a minority government, with Scholz announcing a vote of confidence for January. If his cabinet does not survive this vote, new elections would need to be held in March, six months ahead of the planned schedule.

Opposition leader Friedrich Merz believes this timeframe is too late and is pushing for an immediate vote on the government. 'The coalition no longer has a majority in the German Bundestag, and therefore we call on the Chancellor to hold a vote of confidence immediately, by the beginning of next week at the latest.' Scholz's economic advisor, Jorg Kukies, has been appointed as the new Minister of Finance.