German coalition at risk of collapse after Scholz fires key minister

Germany's governing coalition is in crisis after Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired a key minister and said he would call a vote of confidence in his government early next year.

Scholz said he had no confidence in Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who leads a rival party that has been part of the coalition along with Scholz's SDP and the Greens.

The move means Scholz's government no longer has a majority in parliament and the confidence vote could lead to early elections by March.

The so-called “traffic light” coalition led by the chancellor has ruled Germany since 2021.

Scholz said he did not have trust in any future cooperation with Lindner. He harshly criticised his former finance minister, saying he had "betrayed my confidence" and accusing him of putting the interests of his party base over those of the country.

He added that Germany needed to show it could be relied upon by other countries, particularly following the election of Donald Trump.

Earlier in the day, Lindner reportedly told the other parties in the government that their differences over economic policy were too great and suggested fresh elections.

The chancellor leads the centre-left Social Democrats, which formed a coalition with the environmentalist Greens and economically liberal FDP in 2021. The trio's alliance was nicknamed the "traffic light" coalition for their party colours.

The traffic light coalition took office after 16 years of rule by Angela Merkel, of the conservative CDU.

The crisis inside the coalition plunged the government of Europe's largest economy into chaos, hours after Trump's election triggered deep uncertainty about the continent's future economy and security.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens said his party's ministers would remain in office.

Scholz announced that a vote of confidence will be held in the Bundestag - Germany's parliament - on January 15th, which would give MPs the choice over whether they want fresh elections.

Early elections would then be held by the end of March at the latest, instead of the scheduled date in September. Given the debate so far, it’s likely most MPs would vote for early elections.

The CDU is currently far ahead in the polls. Scholz's Social Democrats and the far-right Alternative for Germany are tied for second.