Pressure is building on Olaf Scholz to bring forward Germany’s confidence vote via Reuters

Written by Tom Sims

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz came under increasing pressure on Sunday to deliver a vote of confidence in parliament that would pave the way for snap elections following the collapse of his coalition.

Two leading members of the Green Party, which shares power with Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) in the minority government, told the Bild newspaper that the vote of confidence should be held in December, ahead of the chancellor’s plans in January.

Europe’s biggest economy was rocked last week by the collapse of the Scholz coalition and disagreements over how much the government should spend to stimulate growth and support Ukraine.

Greens Anton Hofreiter and Irene Mihalic are the most prominent voices so far in the two ruling parties to support the previous vote. A vote of confidence is a necessary prelude to an election.

Scholz proposed a vote of confidence in his government on January 15, with snap elections in March, but the opposition led by Friedrich Merz wants elections in January.

“Olaf Scholz must call a vote of confidence in him in December so that everything is clarified before Christmas and New Year,” Hofreiter told Bild.

Spokesmen for Scholz and the SPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Scholz was scheduled to speak in a nationally televised interview later on Sunday.

Scholz on Friday called for a calm debate between Germany’s warring parties about setting a date for an emergency election to pull the country out of its political crisis.

Scholz urged the parties to first agree on what law can be passed in the remaining parliament but denied that he is trying to implement his policy by postponing the election.