The recently fired German Finance Minister and head of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), Christian Lindner, said in response to media publications about the deliberate collapse of the ruling coalition that we are talking about an election fight and he does not see any news in these materials.
⠀
Earlier, the Zeit newspaper reported that the FDP, under the leadership of Lindner, had been preparing a decision to withdraw from the ruling coalition since September, such an outcome was discussed by trusted party members during a meeting at Truman’s villa in Potsdam, the plan was called “D-Day”.
⠀
“This is an election fight. What’s the news? Olaf Scholz admitted yesterday that he was thinking about my resignation back in the summer. And, of course, the FDP had to leave the coalition without changing economic policy. That’s why I offered Olaf Scholz a comprehensive, orderly path to early elections . So what’s the news? – Lindner’s statement is quoted on the FDP website.
⠀
Following the Zeit’s publication, the FDP and Lindner were harshly criticized by senior members of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Thus, SPD Secretary General Matthias Miersch demanded an apology from his former coalition partners.
⠀
Germany faced a serious government crisis in early November after Finance Minister Lindner was fired at the insistence of Chancellor Scholz. Among the reasons for this decision, he named the latter’s reluctance, within the framework of state budget planning, to simultaneously approve an increase in spending to support Ukraine and investing in the future of Germany.
⠀
The date for likely early elections as a result of a split in the government has been set as February 23 next year. In order to meet the deadline, Scholz will send a written request to the Bundestag on December 11 asking for confidence in him in this post, and on December 16 the corresponding debate will take place in the Bundestag.
⠀
If Scholz expresses confidence, he will be able, led by a minority government (Social Democrats and Greens), to begin coalition negotiations with other parties. This scenario is considered unlikely due to the almost universal consensus in the Bundestag on the need for early elections.
