German voters and opposition keep heat on Scholz for early election | U.S. & World [Video]

By Christian Kraemer and Sarah Marsh

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s main opposition leader Friedrich Merz criticised Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday as “irresponsible” for delaying early elections, as an opinion poll also showed voters in favour of an early vote to pull the country out of political crisis.

Europe’s largest economy was thrown into disarray this week with the collapse of Scholz’s three-way coalition and disagreements over how much money the government should spend to spur growth and support Ukraine.

As parties positioned themselves, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck of the Greens party is set to fire the starting pistol on his own bid to become chancellor on Friday, a source familiar with the matter said.

The coalition’s collapse comes at a tough time for Germany as its economy faces a second year of contraction, its companies fear a loss of competitiveness, while foreign policy challenges mount, from the re-election of Donald Trump to a tariff war …