German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday said he was prepared to negotiate over the date of a vote of confidence in his government, after the collapse of his three-party coalition.
In Budapest for an informal EU summit, Scholz said: “We should discuss the date as calmly as possible.”
Scholz has proposed holding the vote of confidence in the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, on January 15. This would likely mean fresh elections in March.
However, opposition parties have called for the vote to be held as quickly as possible, even next week, in order for new elections to be held earlier.
The chancellor said he wanted Germany’s democratic parties to reach an understanding over “which laws can still be passed this year” before agreeing over a date for the vote of confidence.
