German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday ordered the dissolution of parliament and scheduling new elections for February 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's ruling coalition, saying it was the only way to provide the country with a stable government capable of dealing with its problems.
Scholz lost the vote of confidence on December 16 and heads a minority government. His unpopular and notoriously bitter three-party coalition collapsed on November 6 when he fired his finance minister amid a dispute over how to revive Germany's stagnant economy.
Steinmeier said he made this decision because, after consultations with party leaders, it was clear that there was no agreement among German political parties on a majority for the new government in the current parliament.
“It is precisely in difficult times like these that stability requires a government capable of taking action and a credible majority in parliament,” he said, making the announcement in Berlin.
“Therefore, I am convinced that for the good of our country, new elections are the right path.”
Since the constitution in force after World War II does not allow the Bundestag to dissolve itself, it was Steinmeier's decision to dissolve the parliament and call elections. He had 21 days to make this decision. After the dissolution of parliament, elections must be held within 60 days.
Leaders of several major parties had previously agreed that parliamentary elections should be held on February 23, seven months earlier than originally planned.
In practice, the campaign is already at an advanced stage. Polls show that Scholz's party has overtaken the conservative opposition trade union bloc led by Friedrich Merz.
Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck of the environmentalist Greens, Scholz's remaining government partner, is also seeking the top job – although his party is further behind. If recent polls hold, the likely next government will be Merz as chancellor in coalition with at least one other party.
Key issues include immigration, how to revive a sluggish economy and how best to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
The far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which enjoys strong support in polls, has nominated Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor, but she has no chance of taking the position because other parties refuse to cooperate with her.
The German electoral system traditionally forms coalitions, and polls show no single party holds an absolute majority on its own. The elections are expected to be followed by weeks of negotiations to form a new government.
This is only the fourth time the Bundestag has been dissolved ahead of schedule under Germany's post-World War II constitution. This happened under Chancellor Willy Brandt in 1972, Helmut Kohl in 1982 and Gerhard Schroeder in 2005. Schroeder used the vote of confidence to schedule early elections, with a narrow victory for center-right challenger Angela Merkel.