Scholz proposes the dissolution of the German Bundestag

This was revealed to the German Press Agency by government sources. Steinmeier now has 21 days to decide whether he agrees and calls a new parliamentary election within 60 days.

As all parties represented in the Bundestag are in favor, Steinmeier's approval is also considered certain. He has also already signaled that he considers the election date of February 23, which the government and opposition Christian Democrats are aiming for, to be realistic.

Steinmeier wants to hold talks with parliamentary groups first

However, Steinmeier first wants to hold talks with all parliamentary groups in the Bundestag over the next few days. It is the duty of the Federal President to examine whether there are other options for forming a stable government. "We shouldn't be huddling now," Steinmeier said in an interview with ARD television published at the weekend. "The hectic pace of day-to-day politics and the media's headlines do not dictate the further procedure now, but the constitution and its rules."

The Bundestag had previously withdrawn its confidence in Scholz, paving the way for the Bundestag election to take place seven months earlier than originally planned. In the vote, 207 MPs voted for Scholz, 394 against him and 116 abstained. The Chancellor therefore fell well short of the necessary majority of 367 votes.

Vote of confidence the chancellor's only lever for re-election

The vote of confidence was the only way for Scholz to bring about an early general election himself. He had already announced this step on November 6, immediately after the dismissal of FDP Finance Minister Christian Lindner and the end of his "traffic light" coalition, in order to restore stability. He leads a government supported by the SPD and the Greens, which no longer has a majority in the Bundestag. Without support from the opposition, it can no longer push through anything. Originally, Scholz did not want to call a vote of confidence until January, which would have made new elections possible only towards the end of March.

Scholz remains fully capable of acting

The lost vote of confidence has no effect on the status of the Chancellor and the government. The Chancellor and his government will remain in office - in full and not just in an executive capacity. According to Article 69 of the Basic Law, the office of the Federal Chancellor and his ministers only ends when the new Bundestag is constituted a maximum of 30 days after the election. If negotiations on a new governing coalition have still not been concluded by this time, the Federal President can ask the old government to continue in office until the new one is sworn in.