German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier has ordered the country’s parliament to be dissolved and set new elections for February 23 in the wake of the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition.

Scholz lost a confidence vote on December 16 and leads a minority government after his unpopular and notoriously rancorous three-party coalition collapsed on November 6 when he fired his finance minister in a dispute over how to revitalise Germany’s stagnant economy.

Leaders of several major parties then agreed that a parliamentary election should be held on February 23, seven months earlier than originally planned.

Since the post-Second World War constitution does not allow the Bundestag to dissolve itself, it was up to Steinmeier to decide whether to dissolve parliament and call an election.

He had 21 days to make that decision. Once parliament is dissolved, the election must be held within 60 days.

source: PA

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