German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has dissolved the country’s parliament, confirming that early elections will be held on February 23 triggered by the fall of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government.
Delivering a speech at Berlin’s Bellevue Palace on Friday, Steinmeier said that the country required “a government capable of acting” and “reliable majorities in parliament” to maintain stability in “difficult times”.
Scholz, a Social Democrat, lost a vote of confidence in parliament earlier this month after Finance Minister Christian Lindner resigned. The Liberal Democrats left their strong governing coalition with a legislative majority.
He will remain as interim chancellor until a new government is formed at a time when the country is reeling from a fatal car attack at a Christmas market last week, which has reignited a heated debate over security and immigration.
Suspect Taleb al-Abdulmohse, a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia who had lived in Germany for nearly 20 years, was a supporter of the increasingly popular far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD), and who had promoted Islamophobic views.
The president, whose office has been largely ceremonial in the postwar period, called for a fair and transparent election campaign, caution against “foreign influence,” in express reference to billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform.
“Hatred and violence will have no place in this election campaign, nor will denigration or intimidation. . . all of this is poison for democracy,” Steinmeier said.
He also reminded political parties and the electorate of the difficult situations that the next government will face given the “unstable economic situation” and the “wars in the Middle East and Ukraine”, as well as the debates on immigration and climate change.
Steinmeier emphasised in his speech that problem-solving must become the core business of politics again.
Polls suggest conservative challenger Friedrich Merz, who claims the incumbent government stifled growth with excessive regulations, will replace Scholz.
The polls indicate the conservatives hold a comfortable lead of more than 10 points over Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD).
The classic parties have refused to govern with the AfD, which is ahead of the SPD in the polls, but their presence complicates the parliamentary calculation, making the formation of fragile coalitions more likely.