German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday said he will announce his decision on December 27 whether to dissolve the country’s lower house of parliament – the Bundestag – paving the way for early elections in February.
The decision is the last constitutional hurdle that must be overcome before early elections can be held, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence on Monday.
Germany has been in the midst of a drawn-out political crisis since the collapse of Scholz’s three-party coalition in early November over difficult budgetary negotiations.
Under Article 68 of the Basic Law, Germany’s constitution, the president has 21 days following the lost vote of confidence to decide whether to dissolve the Bundestag.
If Steinmeier, as expected, does call for new elections, the vote is due to be held on February 23 under an agreement reached by Scholz’s minority government and the opposition CDU/CSU bloc.
Immediately after the collapse of Scholz’s coalition, Steinmeier declared that he was ready to make the decision to dissolve the Bundestag, saying Germany needed stable majorities and a government capable of acting.
However, the process to call the new vote has proven lengthy, with initial fears that an election too close to Christmas could cause unnecessary disruption.
Scholz has manoeuvred to pass a number of outstanding bills during the current parliamentary session.
Constitutional factors are also at play.
Germany’s top court has on two occasions been forced to intervene over the dissolution of the Bundestag – in 1983 and 2005 – after complaints from lawmakers.
Steinmeier therefore said he has held talks with parliamentary leaders this week following the vote of confidence, to make sure “that there is no longer any prospect of a stable parliamentary majority for a federal government.”
