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Pressure builds in Germany for early elections after government collapse

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

In Germany, opposition parties and business groups are urging Chancellor Olaf Scholz to trigger new elections as soon as possible. His three-party coalition government collapsed yesterday, plunging Europe's largest economy into political turmoil. NPR Berlin correspondent Rob Schmitz reports.

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: Scholz's coalition government fell apart on Wednesday, after a dayslong dispute over how to plug a multibillion-euro hole in the budget while continuing to provide more support for Ukraine in the wake of the election of Donald Trump in the U.S. After firing his finance minister, Scholz announced that a confidence vote in his now-minority government would be held in January, paving the way for a new election next spring. But opposition leader Friedrich Merz was one of the many politicians calling on Scholz to pick up the pace.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

FRIEDRICH MERZ: (Speaking German).

SCHMITZ: "We simply cannot afford to have a government without a majority for several months, and then an election campaign for several more months, followed by weeks of coalition negotiations," said an exasperated Merz. "New elections," he said, "need to happen now." Other politicians - including the far-right AFD party co-chair Alice Weidel - piled on the criticism of Scholz, calling his government weak.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ALICE WEIDEL: (Speaking German).

SCHMITZ: "Germany's industry is on the brink of extinction," exclaimed Weidel. "And Scholz is misusing the war in Ukraine as a flimsy pretext to undermine these budget talks," she said.

If an election were held today in Germany, Merz's center-right CDU Party - the party of former Chancellor Angela Merkel - would likely garner the most votes, followed by Weidel's far-right AFD Party. Because Merz has refused to govern with the AFD, it would likely mean the CDU would team up with Scholz's social Democrats to form a new government. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier says, whatever happens, Germans need to remain calm.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER: (Speaking German).

SCHMITZ: "Many in our country are worried about these uncertain political times here in Europe and in the U.S.," said Steinmeier. "This is not the time for party tactics and squabbling. It's a time for reason and responsibility."

Rob Schmitz, NPR News, Berlin.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.