Germany is expected to hold snap elections on February 23 after the main Social Democratic Party and the main conservative opposition CDU/CSU faction reached an agreement on Tuesday morning.
The date must be formally approved by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, but this is considered a formality.
The date should bring clarity after days of infighting and speculation sparked by the collapse of Germany's three-party coalition government last week.
The government collapsed after Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz sacked pro-business FDP finance minister Christian Lindner after months of wrangling over how to fill a multibillion-euro hole in the state budget. As a result, the FDP withdrew from the coalition and lost its parliamentary majority.
On Election Day, opposition parties and conservatives had been pushing for a January vote, arguing that Germany could not be left without a leader in the midst of economic and diplomatic turmoil, and on Election Day in mid-March, It is believed to be a compromise between Mr. Scholz and Mr. Scholz, who said it was unfair. This is needed to give election authorities time to organize polls in which more than 60 million people are eligible to vote.
Scholz is scheduled to address Congress at lunchtime Wednesday. He is expected to announce the date for a vote of confidence in his government soon, but his coalition is expected to be rejected, clearing the way for elections. Voting could take place on the 16th December.
Since leaving the FDP last week, Scholz's center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and another coalition partner, the Green Party, have continued to rule in a minority government.
Scholz wants to run again and has the backing of party leaders despite dismal poll numbers. The party had initially suggested holding a general election in late March, but came under pressure from the CDU and the Greens to speed up the election. The CDU enjoys high support in opinion polls, and party leader Friedrich Merz is pushing for elections as early as possible.
The political turmoil comes as Europe's largest economy is expected to contract for the second year in a row, and geopolitical instability is heightened by escalating wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The agreed voting date means Germany will be in the midst of an election campaign when Donald Trump is sworn in as US president on January 20.
The SPD, FDP and Greens have been co-governing since 2021, marking the first time a three-party coalition has been attempted at Germany's federal level.
The first polls conducted on Tuesday after the collapse of the so-called Traffic Light Coalition showed that all parties except the Social Democrats, especially the far-right populist AfD, benefited from the drama. Merz's CDU/CSU conservative coalition won 32.5% of the vote, the Greens 11.5%, the FDP stuck to the 5% threshold needed to return to parliament, and the SPD 15.5%.
The AfD, which has been calling for new elections for years, had the biggest increase of 1.5%, putting the party in second place behind the CDU/CSU with 19.5% of the vote.
Election analysts attribute the AfD's rise not only to the aftermath of the coalition government's collapse, but also to the so-called “Trump effect.” Party leader Alice Weidel has increased her ranking in politician approval ratings from 17th to 14th, while Scholz is now 19th out of 20.
Germany's most popular politician is SPD's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who currently has a 20-point lead over Scholz in opinion polls. He has often been touted as a candidate for prime minister, but is said to have been reluctant to consider the role and has publicly denied such ambitions. However, the SPD is said to be discussing how to replace Mr Scholz with Mr Pistorius, even though the majority of the government is said to want an opposition period.
Mr. Mertz, a 69-year-old lawyer and investment banker who is currently the frontrunner to become the next prime minister, promised wide-ranging tax reforms on Tuesday, including lowering value-added taxes (VAT) on all groceries and restaurant meals. .
The new administration will be forced to confront the crises facing Germany, including inflation, Russia's war against Ukraine, and the threat of tariffs from both China and Trump. After the Russian government launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, supplies of cheap Russian gas and oil were cut, and the country's economy suffered as a result of a previous failure to agree on sustainable management of its debt during the crisis. was hit hard.
