Germany's Coalition Govt Collapses After Scholz Fires Finance Minister

Berlin: Germany's centre-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz anunced Wednesday he was firing Finance Minister Christian Lindner, signalling collapse of ruling three-party coalition that relied on Lindner's pro-business party.

Scholz anunced move at a news conference following weeks of disputes among coalition partners over ways to boost country's ailing ecomy. He said he would seek a vote of confidence in January that he said might le to early elections that orwise would be due next September.

“I feel compelled to take this step to prevent dam to our country. We need an effective government that has strength to make necessary decisions for our country," Scholz said.

Lindner, from pro-business Free Democrats, h rejected tax increases or changes to Germany's strict self-imposed limits on running up debt. Scholz's Social Democrats and environmental Greens, who are also part of coalition, wanted to see massive state investment and rejected Free Democrats' proposals to cut welfare programmes.

Lindner responded to his dismissal by accusing Scholz of failing "to recognise need for a new ecomic awakening in our country. He has played down ecomic concerns of citizens.” He said chancellor's proposals to reenergise ecomy were “dull, unambitious and make contribution to overcoming fundamental weakness of our country's growth.” Scholz said about Lindner that “he has broken my trust too often. He even unilaterally cancelled agreement on budget. After we h alrey agreed on it in long negotiations. re is basis of trust for furr cooperation. Serious government work is t possible like this.” He accused Lindner of publicly calling for a fundamentally different ecomic policy, including what Scholz said would be tax cuts worth billions for a few top earners while at same time cutting pensions for all pensioners. “That is t decent,” Scholz said.

Scholz said he would seek vote of confidence in Germany's Bundestag, or parliament, on January 15, which would "allow members of Bundestag to decide wher to clear way for early elections.” election could n “take place by end of March at latest, in compliance with delines set out in constitution," he said.

regular election is scheduled for September 2025.

Germany's ecomy is expected to shrink in 2024 for second year in a row, or at best stagnate, battered by external shocks and home-grown problems including red tape and a short of skilled labor.

Scholz's center-left Social Democrats, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck's environmentalist, left-leaning Greens and Lindner's pro-business Free Democrats — a party that in recent deces has mostly allied with conservatives — set out in 2021 to form an ambitious, progressive coalition strdling ideological divisions that would modernize Germany.

government can point to achievements: preventing an energy crunch after Russia cut off its gas supplies to Germany, initiating modernization of military and a series of social reforms. But impression it has left with many Germans is of deepening dysfunction.

Ahe of vote of confidence in January, Scholz said he would reach out to opposition leer Friedrich Merz of centre-right Christian Democrats to confer on possible ways of strengning ecomy and defense.

“I will w very quickly seek talks with leer of opposition,” Scholz said. He said he wants to offer Merz possibility of working toger on issues “that are crucial for our country, on quickly strengning our ecomy and our defence." 

(Except for heline, this story has t been edited by Republic and is published from a syndicated feed.)