5 days ago
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Chancellor triggered path to elections, due to take place on 23 February, by firing finance minister Christian Lindner last month
Scholz can expect to lose today’s vote, touching off the planned course of events. However speculation has been rife that the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party could try to torpedo the drive for a new election in a bid to create chaos. If enough AfD MPs voted for Scholz in the confidence vote, it could prop up his minority government against its will. To prevent this, the Bundestag is requiring lawmakers to vote by name thus leaving each on the record with their stated preference. And the parliamentary group leaders of the Greens, junior partners in the government, have advised their members to abstain while the centre-right CDU/CSU and the FDP will vote against Scholz, thus virtually ensuring he won’t gain a majority.
Scholz, who is deeply unpopular, will begin the session at 1pm CET with a short speech presenting his reasons for calling the confidence motion. He will be the fifth chancellor to use the measure as laid out in Article 68 of Germany’s Basic Law since the second world war – Angela Merkel was a rare exception in never using it despite her 16 years in power through many a crisis. About 90 minutes of debate will follow.
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