German President Dissolves Parliament, Confirms February Vote | Election news

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who lost a confidence vote this month, will act as interim chancellor amid growing turmoil.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has dissolved the country's parliament, confirming that snap elections triggered by the recent collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government will be held on February 23.

Speaking at Berlin's Bellevue Palace on Friday, Steinmeier said the country needed a “government capable of acting” and “credible majorities in parliament” to maintain stability in “difficult times”.

Scholz, a Social Democrat, lost a vote of confidence in parliament earlier this month after the departure of Finance Minister Christian Lindner's Free Democrats left his unwieldy governing coalition without a legislative majority.

He will remain in office as caretaker chancellor until a new government is formed as the country shakes from a deadly car ram attack at a Christmas market last week, reviving a heated debate about security and immigration.

The suspect, Taleb al-Abdulmohse, a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia who had lived in Germany for nearly 20 years, was a supporter of the increasingly popular far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD), and which promoted Islamophobic views.

No “hate and violence”

The president, whose post has been largely ceremonial in the post-war era, called for the election campaign to be conducted fairly and transparently, warning of “foreign influence,” with specific reference to billionaire Elon Musk's social media platform, X.

“Hate and violence should have no place in this election campaign, nor should defamation or intimidation … all of these are poison to democracy,” Steinmeier said.

He also reminded political parties and voters of the challenges the next government will face given the “economically unstable situation” and “wars in the Middle East and Ukraine”, as well as debates on immigration and climate change.

Steinmeier stressed in his speech that solving problems must once again become the core business of politics.

Polls suggest conservative challenger Friedrich Merz, who argues the current government has stifled growth with excessive regulations, will replace Scholz.

Polls show the conservatives have a comfortable lead of more than 10 points over Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD).

The main parties have refused to govern with the AfD, which is positioned slightly ahead of the SPD in the polls, but its presence complicates parliamentary arithmetic, making unstable coalitions more likely.