Now that the remaining governing coalition no longer has its own majority in parliament, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for a vote of confidence in the Bundestag. The majority of MPs have voted to have no confidence in the Chancellor. He can therefore propose to the Federal President that the Bundestag be dissolved and the path to new elections is clear.
It is only surprising that the Federal Chancellor, having originally tried to move the time of the new election closer to the end of the actual legislative period, has now declared that bringing forward the Bundestag elections is now also his own goal. After a lively debate, the MPs voted. And the result was by no means as clear-cut as was perhaps expected. In the end, only 394 of the 717 MPs voted against Chancellor Scholz.
From the CGB’s point of view, this vote confirms how differently politics is currently being judged and evaluated and that Germany is too far away from the necessary unity and cohesion that is urgently needed to solve the pressing problems. Ultimately, parliament is also a reflection of our society. The CGB firmly believes that all democratic parties and forces must now work together to return to the important and necessary unity without which the difficult challenges ahead cannot be overcome.
Chancellor Scholz will now propose to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier that the Bundestag be dissolved to bring about new elections. He then has 21 days to dissolve the Bundestag. If he decides to dissolve the Bundestag, new elections must be held within 60 days. The election date is currently scheduled for 23 February 2025.
Until a new Bundestag is constituted and a new Federal Chancellor is elected, the current Federal Chancellor and Federal Government will remain in office on a provisional basis.
Christian Hertzog – Secretary General
Christian Trade Union Federation of Germany – CGB (Christlicher Gewerkschaftsbund Deutschlands)
Source: https://www.cgb.info/aktuell/pressemitteilungen/leser/items/1402.html (original German)
