German government fails to survive no-confidence vote, parliament will have to dissolve

Panorama of a session of the German Federal Parliament in Berlin, March 13, 2024. (Photo: THX/TTXVN)

On December 16, German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz asked the country's Federal Parliament to vote of confidence in the minority government he leads, paving the way for a new federal election.

According to a VNA reporter in Germany, in the vote, Chancellor Scholz's government received only 207 votes in favor, 394 votes against and 116 abstentions.

With this result, Chancellor Scholz's government did not receive a majority of votes and Chancellor Scholz will have to ask Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dissolve Parliament to hold early elections.

This result is not at all surprising because in recent weeks, the major political parties in the German Parliament have reached a consensus on new elections, scheduled to be held on February 23, 2025.

In his speech before the vote, Chancellor Scholz referred to the damage caused by the constant disputes between the parties in the "Traffic Light" Alliance and expressed regret for such damage.

He stressed that the disunity within the alliance made him impatient.

He accused the Liberal Democrats of former finance minister Christian Lindner of “sabotaging” the coalition government for weeks, damaging the government’s reputation and democracy.

According to him, politics is not a game. To be able to lead requires "moral maturity" and responsibility.

Referring to Germany's further development, Chancellor Scholz said Europe's leading economy needs to have stronger growth.

Therefore, it is necessary to increase investment in infrastructure, and at the same time create more incentives to keep businesses in Germany or continue to come to Germany.

He also warned of growing economic competition with Asian countries, saying Germany "cannot ignore" this.

Chancellor Scholz also outlined a number of policy directions such as increasing investment in defense, reforming "debt brake" regulations, increasing the minimum wage to 15 euros/hour and keeping pension levels stable, and reducing value-added tax (VAT) on food from the current 7% to 5%.

Regarding the war in Ukraine, the German Chancellor once again affirmed the policy of not transferring Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.

According to the Basic Law (Constitution) of Germany, after receiving the request of the Chancellor, the President of Germany will decide to dissolve the Federal Parliament within 21 days, and new elections will be held within 60 days thereafter.

Currently, political parties are actively preparing and will announce their election programs in the coming days./.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/chinh-phu-duc-khong-vuot-qua-bo-phieu-bat-tin-nhiem-quoc-hoi-se-phai-giai-tan-237120.html