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Germany faces political crisis after coalition collapse

President Steinmeier signs dismissal of three SPD ministers, opposition demands confidence vote in Bundestag

Nov 7, 2024 19:01 30

Germany faces political crisis after coalition collapse  - 1

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier signed the release of three of the four ministers from the Free Democratic Party (FDP) in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's office after the collapse of the center-left coalition, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.

Steinmeier released Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Justice Marco Buschmann and Education Minister Bettina Stark-Wattzinger in his official residence - the "Bellevue" palace. in Berlin.

At the same time, Scholz's adviser on economic policy, Jörg Kukis, was appointed as the new finance minister.

Transport Minister Volker Vissing, who left the ranks of the SDP, remained the only one from the party to keep his post. Steinmeier even appointed him as the new Minister of Justice.

After the collapse of the center-left coalition, the far-right opposition party "Alternative for Germany" (AzG) demands that Chancellor Olaf Scholz immediately request a vote of confidence in the Bundestag (lower house of parliament).

AzG co-chair Alice Weidel said after a special meeting of the party's parliamentary group in Berlin that Scholz had long since lost public trust. "He must immediately pave the way for new elections, for a vote of confidence,", she stressed, adding that the vote must be called as early as next week. Postponing the confidence vote until January 15, as Scholz plans to do, would be irresponsible, Weidel believes. She described the collapse of the ruling coalition as long overdue and as a "liberation for Germany".

For his part, the leader of the Bavarian conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) Markus Söder warned of a much more fundamental crisis in Germany after the collapse of the center-left governing coalition.

"Now is not the time for games. If this fails, not only Germany but also democracy will fail,'' said Söder, who is also the premier of the state of Bavaria, according to participants in an internal conference call of the CSU's executive committee to resolve the current crisis. According to them, he has announced that he sees his party in pre-election mode from now on and that the federal election should take place as soon as possible.

The CSU, which together with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) forms the conservative Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) bloc in the Bundestag, will reportedly draw up its list for the December or January elections, with the chairman of the parliamentary group expected to CSU Alexander Dobrind to take the leading position.