Scholz ready to bring forward elections in Germany – DW – 11/08/2024

The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, appeared ready to negotiate with the conservative opposition this Friday (11/08/2024) so ​​that early elections can be held before the month of March after the collapse of his government coalition, as he had initially arranged. Was done.

“From my point of view, the dialogue is now where it should be and is now taking place between parliamentary groups,” Scholz said at the end of an informal European summit in Budapest after Christian Democratic Union leader Friedrich Merz spoke at a press conference in Budapest. (CDU), urged him to bring the appointment forward with the election in exchange for supporting some of the minority government’s projects.

“I announced on Wednesday that I want to make early elections possible so that there is clarity after the FDP leaves the government,” the chancellor said, referring to the Liberal Party. Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens remained together for the past three years.

“We should discuss whether this is possible without panic,” he said, referring to the measures, “because it would be good if the democratic factions in the Bundestag (lower house) could reach an agreement on what laws should be passed this year.” Approval can be given. Which he would still like to see approved in Parliament before the end of the year.

No majority for voting

The Chancellor denied that he was going to condition a motion of confidence on the final support of other parliamentary groups for the pending initiatives, a vote which he knows he has already lost due to not having a majority. Is.

“I would not expect others to support a policy they do not agree with,” Scholz said the day Merz proposed January 19 as the date for holding an early election.

“New elections could be held in Germany on January 19,” Merz said in a statement to Stern magazine. “It’s in two and a half months,” the head of Germany’s main opposition party insisted.

Scholz had announced that he would table a vote of confidence on 15 January, meaning early elections should be held in late March or early April.

This morning Merz demanded that the Chancellor move the confidence vote to Wednesday next week, along with his official statement on the state of the country in the lower house.

CT (EFE, AFP)