Germany's coalition government collapses after key minister is sacked
Germany's ruling coalition has collapsed, triggering political chaos in Europe's largest economy.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is now expected to head a minority government with his Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Greens.
It comes after Mr Scholz sacked finance minister Christian Lindner, who leads the third coalition partner, the pro-business Free Democrats Party (FDP), on Wednesday night.
The chancellor has said he plans to hold a confidence vote in his government on 15 January. The result could trigger early elections by the end of March.
Mr Scholz's decision to sack Mr Lindner followed weeks of disputes among Germany's coalition partners over ways to boost the country's ailing economy.
Added to that, the government's popularity has been sinking while far-right and far-left forces have been surging.
He said Mr Lindner "has broken my trust too often", and claimed he was focused on the short-term survival of his own party. "This kind of selfishness is utterly incomprehensible," he added.
Two of the three other FDP ministers - for justice and education - voluntarily left the government. The third, the minister for transport, opted to stay in office and leave the party.
"Olaf Scholz refuses to recognise that our country needs a new economic model," Mr Lindner said. "Olaf Scholz has showed he doesn't have the strength to give his country a new boost."
Mr Lindner had rejected tax increases or changes to Germany's strict self-imposed limits on running up debt.
The Social Democrats and the Greens want to see massive state investment. They had rejected proposals by the FDP to cut welfare programmes.
It leaves Mr Scholz relying on parliamentary majorities to pass legislation.
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Scholz said he would ask Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative opposition CDU, who are far ahead in polls, for support in passing the budget and boosting military spending.
But Mr Merz has rejected Scholz's plan to wait to hold a vote of confidence until January.
"The coalition no longer has a majority in the German Bundestag, and we therefore call on the chancellor ... to call a vote of confidence immediately, or at the latest by the beginning of next week," he said on Thursday.
Across 2024, Germany's economy is expected to shrink - or at best flatline - for the second year in a row.
The country has struggled under external shocks and home-grown problems, including red tape and a shortage of skilled labour.
