German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated on Sunday that he is not opposed to advancing the parliamentary confidence vote before Christmas if all parties reach a consensus. He mentioned that the vote of confidence might take place earlier than initially planned if an agreement is reached.
In an interview with the German public broadcasting network ARD on Sunday evening, Scholz mentioned that if consensus is reached, a confidence vote on his government could potentially be held before Christmas. Scholz stated, “If everyone agrees, that’s not a problem.”
After his government collapsed on Wednesday, Scholz announced that a parliamentary confidence vote would be held in January next year, with an expectation for general elections in March. However, several German politicians, including officials from Scholz’s ruling coalition, have urged for an earlier election date. The various political parties are already in campaign mode.
The leader of the opposition party Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, has repeatedly called on Scholz to hold the confidence vote on the day the government was declared broken, accusing him of “clinging tightly to power.”
Green party member and Chairman of the German-European Affairs Committee, Anton Hofreiter, told Bild, “Scholz should request a confidence vote in December, so as to address the government’s instability issues as soon as possible before Christmas and New Year.”
During a Sunday program, Scholz denied holding onto power stubbornly and explained that conducting the confidence vote as soon as possible “is not as simple as it seems.” He also mentioned that the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has a great chance of winning the next election. However, according to the latest polls, the SPD currently trails behind the CDU by approximately 17 percentage points.
In an evening interview on Sunday, Scholz mentioned that he has already congratulated U.S. President-elect Trump and is expecting to have a conversation with him soon.
When asked about facing the challenges brought by Trump, Scholz replied, “I am never naive, but I am not afraid either. We will dance with everyone in the room.” He also emphasized that Germany will continue to maintain a close partnership with “the world’s most powerful democracy.”
On the 7th, Scholz announced the replacement of Finance Minister Christian Lindner, declaring the dissolution of the current ruling coalition, leading to an early general election scheduled for next year, instead of in September.