German government on brink of collapse after Olaf Scholz sacks finance minister

Unexpected move throws Europe’s largest economy into political disarray and is likely to lead to snap elections in March

The German government is on the brink of collapse after the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, unexpectedly sacked his finance minister, throwing Europe’s largest economy into political disarray.

Christian Linder was thrown out of the three-way coalition during a meeting of high-level government members on Wednesday evening, after months of bitter infighting that has contributed to the administration’s growing unpopularity.