German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has dissolved the country’s parliament, confirming that early elections will be held on February 23, sparked by the fall of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government.
In his speech Friday at Berlin’s Bellevue Palace, Steinmeier said the country needed “a government capable of acting” and “reliable majorities in parliament” to achieve 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 interim chancellor until a new government is formed, as the country recovers from a fatal vehicle attack at a Christmas market last week that 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 post has been largely ceremonial in the post-war era, called for the election campaign to be conducted fairly and transparently, warning of “foreign influence”, with specific reference to billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform, X.
“Hatred and violence will have no place in this election campaign, nor will denigration or intimidation. . . all 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 emphasized in his speech that the resolution of challenges will have to once support the core of the policy.
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).
Mainstream parties have refused to govern with AfD, which is positioned slightly ahead of the SPD in polls, but its presence complicates parliamentary arithmetic, making shaky coalitions more likely.