President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved Germany's lower house on Friday to pave the way in which for early elections on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition failed.
“Especially in difficult times like these, stability requires an effective government and reliable majorities in parliament,” which is why early elections are the appropriate path for Germany, said Steinmeier in Berlin.
After the election, problem solving must turn out to be the core business of politics again, Steinmeier added in a speech.
The president, whose post-war office was largely ceremonial in nature, also called for fair and transparent conduct of the election campaign.
“External influence represents a danger to democracy, whether it is covert, as was obviously the case recently in the Romanian elections, or open and blatant, as is currently being practiced particularly intensively on the (social media) platform X.” he said.
Scholz, a Social Democrat who will lead an interim government until a brand new one may be formed, lost a confidence vote in parliament earlier this month after Finance Minister Christian Lindner's Free Democrats left his unwieldy governing coalition with no legislative majority.
The vote was also the beginning of a serious election campaign. Conservative challenger Friedrich Merz, who polls show is probably going to interchange Scholz, claimed the incumbent government had introduced excessive regulations and stifled growth.
In most polls, the Conservatives have a snug lead of greater than 10 points over the Social Democrats (SPD). The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is just ahead of the SPD, while its coalition partner the Greens is in fourth place.
Mainstream parties have refused to manipulate with the AfD, but its presence complicates parliamentary arithmetic and makes shaky coalitions more likely.
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