German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he'll ask for a vote of confidence in December

BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced that he will ask for a vote of confidence on Dec. 16, paving the way forward for an early parliamentary election in February.

Scholz declared his plans for a vote of confidence during a speech in parliament on Wednesday, one week after his three-party coalition government collapsed.

He had initially wanted to have an early election only by late March — before the vote that is regularly scheduled for September 2025.

However, the center-right Christian opposition pushed for a quicker vote in the parliament to speed up the next election.

In the end, party leaders across the political spectrum agreed on Wednesday on the two dates for the vote of confidence and the new election.

The developments come after the collapse of Scholz’s three-party coalition last week, at a time when the leaders of Europe’s biggest economy have been grappling with ways to revive Germany’s anemic economic growth.

Experts predict the economy will shrink or at best stagnate this year, due to external shocks and homegrown problems including red tape and a shortage of skilled labor.

Scholz had previously announced that he would seek a vote of confidence on Jan. 15 that could lead to an election as soon as March. The vote had otherwise been due next September.