German chancellor loses no-confidence vote in parliament

Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, on Monday voted 394-207 to express no confidence in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s minority government. More than 100 members abstained from voting. The vote followed nearly 2 and half hours of debate and a statement by the chancellor himself urging greater national spending or investment for the future. Last month, a budget dispute prompted him to fire Finance Minister Christian Lindner, resulting in the collapse of his coalition government. Scholz called for the vote on Wednesday—parliamentary rules require at least 48 hours between the motion and the vote.

What happens next? On Monday, Scholz visited Berlin’s Bellevue Palace and asked German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dissolve the Bundestag, according to reporting by Deutsche Welle, a state-owned public German broadcaster. The president now has 21 days to decide whether to dissolve parliament. Snap elections must be held within 60 days of the dissolution of the Bundestag. An election is already planned for Feb. 23.

Dig deeper: Read Bekah McCallum’s report on how German youth are showing increased interest in Scripture and the church.