German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday he would be prepared to call a confidence vote in parliament before Christmas, a move that would pave the way for snap elections after the collapse of his three-way governing coalition.
That date is earlier than the January date he proposed last week and follows growing pressure from politicians and the public for a quicker vote.
Europe’s biggest economy was thrown into disarray last week with the collapse of Scholz’s coalition and disagreements over how much the government should spend to encourage growth and support Ukraine.
“I don’t cling to my job,” he said in an interview with ARD television.
Scholz had suggested holding a vote of confidence in his government on January 15, with early elections in March, but the conservative opposition led by Friedrich Merz wants elections in January. A vote of confidence is a necessary prerequisite for an election.
Earlier on Sunday, Scholz came under increasing pressure to move forward with the confidence vote.
Two leaders of the Green party, which shares power with Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) in a minority government, told the Bild newspaper that the confidence vote should take place in December.
Anton Hofreiter and Irene Mihalic of the Green party have so far been the most prominent voices among the two remaining ruling parties to support an earlier vote.
Scholz said in the ARD interview that an early vote of confidence would depend on reaching an agreement on the timetable with SPD leader Rolf Mutzenich and opposition Merz.
“It is not a problem at all for me to take a vote of confidence before Christmas,” he said.
Scholz demanded on Friday a calm debate between Germany’s warring factions on setting a date for early elections aimed at pulling the country out of its political crisis.
Scholz called on the parties to first agree on what legislation could be passed in what remains of the current parliament, but denied trying to push through his own political agenda by delaying the election.
