German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Wednesday that he will seek a vote of confidence on December 16, setting the stage for early parliamentary elections in February. This decision comes in the aftermath of the collapse of his three-party coalition government last week.
Scholz's coalition, which comprised the Social Democrats, the Free Democrats, and the Greens, faced internal strife and ultimately fell apart when Finance Minister Christian Lindner was dismissed due to disagreements over economic revival strategies.
