German Chancellor Olaf Scholz loses confidence vote triggering snap elections

In a major turn of events, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in their parliament forcing the country into snap elections seven months ahead of schedule, Al Jazeera reported.

The vote on Monday (local time) came after Scholz's fragile coalition collapsed, sparking a political crisis in the largest economy of the European Union.

Only 207 lawmakers voted in Scholz's support in the 733-member lower house, or Bundestag, while 394 members voted against him and 116 abstained. That left him far short of the majority of 367 needed to sustain in power. 

Following this, the snap elections for a new parliament will take place on February 23. However, Scholz's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens will continue running the country without parliamentary backing until a new government is formed.

The governing coalition, which consisted of three political parties, was shaken when Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner in November. It was followed by Lindner's pro-business Free Democrats quitting the coalition government, robbing Scholz of a majority in parliament.

Earlier, Tesla CEO Elon Musk called Chancellor Scholz a "fool" after the collapse of his three-party coalition. Musk posted in German on X: "Olaf ist ein Narr." The sentence translates to: "Olaf is a fool."

Monday's move came after months of infighting over fiscal priorities and debt spending. In Germany, Scholz - who previously served as mayor of Hamburg and finance minister before becoming the head of a new government in 2021 - accused the Free Democrats of wanting to block investment in the country.

Seen as a continuity candidate when he took over from Angela Merkel three years ago, he has framed next year's election as an opportunity for voters to set a new course, casting the vote as a choice between a future of growth versus one of austerity, according to Al Jazeera. If he gets a second term, Scholz said he would invest heavily in Germany's creaking infrastructure and would not make the spending cuts he said the conservatives want.

Scholz and the leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, Friedrich Merz, who polls suggest is likely to be the next chancellor, clashed in a debate before Monday's vote, accusing each other of incompetence.

"Shortsightedness might save money in the short term, but the mortgage on our future is unaffordable," Scholz told lawmakers. Merz said that Scholz's spending plans would burden future generations and accused the chancellor of failing to deliver on promises of rearmament since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

According to Al Jazeera, the conservatives have a comfortable, albeit narrowing lead of more than 10 percentage points over the SPD in most polls ahead of the February vote. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is slightly ahead of Scholz's party while the Greens are in fourth place.

Though mainstream parties have refused to govern with the AfD, its presence complicates parliamentary politics, making unwieldy three-way coalitions like Scholz's more likely. Meanwhile, the chancellor has outlined a list of urgent measures that he could pass before the elections, including 11 billion euros ($11.6bn) of tax cuts and an increase in child benefits. 

(this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)