Scholz dismisses the Finance Minister and will ask for a vote of confidence before Parliament in January

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The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, dismissed this Wednesday the Minister of Finance, the liberal Christian Lindner, due to disagreements within the framework of the internal crisis within the coalition and will request a vote of confidence before Parliament on January 15.

“I have just asked the president (Frank-Walter Steinmeier) to release the Finance Minister from his duties. I am forced to take this step to avoid damage to our country,” stressed the German Chancellor, adding that he no longer has “confidence ” in Lindner, since “he only cares about the survival of his own party.”

Likewise, he highlighted in a statement to the press that the liberal leader has used “petty partisan political tactics.” “He does not want to continue subjecting the country to this type of behavior,” he said, accusing Lindner of irresponsibility.

The German Chancellor has assured that he will request a vote of confidence before the Bundestag on January 15, so that early elections could be held in March at the latest. If he loses, he would have to dissolve Parliament. The election date was set for September 2025.

Lindner, of the Liberal Party (FDP), had proposed holding early elections in the country at the beginning of 2025 given the differences between the coalition partners on economic matters after this week’s talks, which do not seem to have borne fruit.

The fracture of the coalition formed by Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the FDP occurs due to disagreements over the 1 billion euro hole in the Budget and the economic crisis in the country, the response to which has caused a split within of the alliance.