BERLIN — (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that he will ask for a vote of confidence on Dec. 16, paving the way for early parliamentary elections in February. He declared his plans during a speech in parliament, a week after his three-party coalition government collapsed.
Germany has been governed since 2021 by a coalition led by Scholz’s left-leaning Social Democrats, which included the smaller pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens. It was an uneasy and fractious alliance, and it fell apart when Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats in a late-night move following disagreements over how to revive the shrinking economy.
“The date at the end of February has now been set and I am very grateful for that,” Scholz said, adding that he would try to pass important legislation through parliament before that, such as financial support for children of poor families, or amendments to the country’s constitution to make the highest court …