Germany plans to hold early election ‘in February’

Germany’s biggest political parties have agreed on a timetable leading to a nationwide election on February 23rd 2025, the main parties agreed Tuesday.

As things stand, Germany has a minority government with the remaining parties – the SPD and Greens. But Scholz had indicated that he would hold a vote of confidence and that would lead to snap elections months earlier than the initial scheduled date for the nationwide vote on September 28th next year.
Originally, Scholz had put forward the idea of an early election in March but after pressure from opposition politicians, business leaders and the public, Scholz said he was open to an earlier timeline.
The opposition CDU/CSU had been pushing for a January election, but it now appears that the vote will take place in February.
READ ALSO: Will Germany’s new citizenship law remain after new elections?

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Photo: RALF HIRSCHBERGER/AFP.
When is the vote of confidence?
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is to put the vote of confidence to the Bundestag on December 16th, said parliamentary leader of the SPD, Rolf Muetzenich later on Tuesday.
The expected defeat in this vote of confidence would initiate the official process towards new elections – and finalise when Germans will go to the polls.
After Scholz loses the vote as expected, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will have 21 days to dissolve parliament, and elections will then have to be held within the next 60 days.

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How is the public feeling about an election?
A recent poll found that two-thirds of voters wanted an election sooner rather than later.
“People are very nervous and don’t know where the country is going,” CDU general secretary Carsten Linnemann told the ZDF broadcaster on Tuesday.
Linnemann added that once there was more clarity on the timetable, “things will calm down and we can go into the election campaign”.
However, politicians may have reservations about the early date. It will force them to conduct their campaigns in the dark and cold of winter, when voters will be less enthusiastic to flock to outdoor events than during the usual campaign time in high summer.
What can we expect from a future election?
Scholz’s coalition marked the first time a tripartite alliance has ruled at the federal level, and it may not be the last, given Germany’s increasingly fragmented political party landscape.
Fears about immigration have driven the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. It is now polling at close to 20 percent, but other parties have pledged to shun it as a coalition partner.
The latest polls put the centre-right CDU/CSU alliance firmly in the lead at 32 percent.

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To win a majority, however, the conservatives would likely need the future backing of the SPD, which is currently polling at 15.5 percent, in a so-called grand coalition, plus a third party.
READ ALSO: What would a CDU win mean for Germany?
Contenders for that spot, according to current polling, would be either the FDP, with five percent support, or possibly the Greens, who are polling at 11 percent.
Lindner, who has said he wants to be finance minister again, on Tuesday welcomed the date for new elections, saying: “Happily we now have clarity on this question.”
He earlier said that he thought CDU leader Friedrich Merz “will almost certainly be the next chancellor of Germany. The only question is: Who will chancellor Merz govern with?”
With reporting by Jastinder KHERA from AFP

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The agreement was reached between the parliamentary groups of the centre-left SPD and the conservative opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian allies CSU.
The planned election date would mean Germany will be in the middle of its election campaigning when Donald Trump is inaugurated as US president on January 20th.
As The Local has been reporting, the governing coalition, which was comprised of the SPD, Greens and FDP, broke down last Wednesday after Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the SPD, fired rebellious Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP).
As things stand, Germany has a minority government with the remaining parties – the SPD and Greens. But Scholz had indicated that he would hold a vote of confidence and that would lead to snap elections months earlier than the initial scheduled date for the nationwide vote on September 28th next year.
Originally, Scholz had put forward the idea of an early election in March but after pressure from opposition politicians, business leaders and the public, Scholz said he was open to an earlier timeline.
The opposition CDU/CSU had been pushing for a January election, but it now appears that the vote will take place in February.
READ ALSO: Will Germany’s new citizenship law remain after new elections?

When is the vote of confidence?
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is to put the vote of confidence to the Bundestag on December 16th, said parliamentary leader of the SPD, Rolf Muetzenich later on Tuesday.
The expected defeat in this vote of confidence would initiate the official process towards new elections – and finalise when Germans will go to the polls.
After Scholz loses the vote as expected, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will have 21 days to dissolve parliament, and elections will then have to be held within the next 60 days.
How is the public feeling about an election?
A recent poll found that two-thirds of voters wanted an election sooner rather than later.
“People are very nervous and don’t know where the country is going,” CDU general secretary Carsten Linnemann told the ZDF broadcaster on Tuesday.
Linnemann added that once there was more clarity on the timetable, “things will calm down and we can go into the election campaign”.
However, politicians may have reservations about the early date. It will force them to conduct their campaigns in the dark and cold of winter, when voters will be less enthusiastic to flock to outdoor events than during the usual campaign time in high summer.
What can we expect from a future election?
Scholz’s coalition marked the first time a tripartite alliance has ruled at the federal level, and it may not be the last, given Germany’s increasingly fragmented political party landscape.
Fears about immigration have driven the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. It is now polling at close to 20 percent, but other parties have pledged to shun it as a coalition partner.
The latest polls put the centre-right CDU/CSU alliance firmly in the lead at 32 percent.
To win a majority, however, the conservatives would likely need the future backing of the SPD, which is currently polling at 15.5 percent, in a so-called grand coalition, plus a third party.
READ ALSO: What would a CDU win mean for Germany?
Contenders for that spot, according to current polling, would be either the FDP, with five percent support, or possibly the Greens, who are polling at 11 percent.
Lindner, who has said he wants to be finance minister again, on Tuesday welcomed the date for new elections, saying: “Happily we now have clarity on this question.”
He earlier said that he thought CDU leader Friedrich Merz “will almost certainly be the next chancellor of Germany. The only question is: Who will chancellor Merz govern with?”
With reporting by Jastinder KHERA from AFP

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