The three-year-old union between Scholz's Social Democratic Party , the Greens and Lindner's Free Democratic Party had been on shaky ground for some time.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he would call for a confidence vote on Jan. 15, raising the possibility of elections earlier than scheduled in March. The three-year-old union between Scholz's Social Democratic Party , the Greens and Lindner's Free Democratic Party had been on shaky ground for some time, with differing budget and economic policy positions causing tensions and clashes.Speaking at a press conference late Wednesday, Scholz launched a tirade against Lindner, saying he was not concerned about serving for the common good and he was dismissed to prevent harm to the country.
The parties had also been struggling to agree upon a 2025 budget, which still had a funding gap of several billions of euros and was still being negotiated. The deadline for the budget was set for later this month.Lindner said at his own press conference Wednesday that his party had made suggestions for an economic shift, which had been rejected by Scholz. He called Scholz's counter-suggestions unambitious.