Germany's ruling coalition collapsed on Wednesday as Chancellor Olaf Scholz sacked his finance minister and paved the way for a snap election, triggering political chaos in Europe's largest economy hours after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election.
After sacking Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats (FDP) party, Scholz is expected to head a minority government with his Social Democrats and the Greens, the second-largest party.
He would have to rely on cobbled-together parliamentary majorities to pass legislation and he plans to hold a parliamentary confidence vote in his government on Jan. 15, which could trigger snap elections by the end of March.
Scholz said he would ask Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition conservatives who are far ahead in polls, for support in passing the budget and boosting military spending. Merz is due to respond in a Thursday morning news conference.
The collapse of Scholz's three-way alliance caps months of wrangling over budget policy and Germany's economic direction, with the government's popularity sinking and far-right and far-left forces surging.
"We need a government that is able to act, that has the strength to make the necessary decisions for our country," Scholz told reporters.
Scholz said he fired Lindner for his obstructive behaviour on budget disputes, accusing the minister of putting party before country and blocking legislation on spurious grounds.
Reuters
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