The Chancellor of Germany dismissed the Minister of Finance. What does this mean

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will ask Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to fire Finance Minister Christian Lindner, head of the Free Democratic Party, which is part of the government coalition. This may lead to the collapse of the ruling coalition and early parliamentary elections.

This is reported by Spiegel.

The basis for this decision of Scholz was disagreements with Lindner in budgetary, financial and economic policy. German media write that the tripartite coalition could not decide what to do with the budget for 2025.

Scholzʼs Social Democratic Party and the Greens said on the eve of the coalition committee meeting that an agreement on the budget for 2025 is possible if there is a desire for it. The Free Democratic Party under Lindner, however, insisted that a different course of economic policy should be adopted. Christian Lindner, among other things, spoke about the need to hold early elections to the Bundestag, but Scholz did not support this.

Olaf Scholz is preparing a statement for the press. It is not yet known whether he will announce early elections due to the collapse of the coalition. However, without the votes of free democrats in the Bundestag, the coalition will not have a majority.

• The collapse of the coalition in Germany threatens to destabilize the political situation, which may lead to either the creation of a new government majority or the announcement of early elections. The political crisis can also strengthen opposition parties, in particular the pro-Russian Alternative for Germany. AdN has an anti-migrant rhetoric, advocates the preservation of "traditional values", criticizes the EU and aid to Ukraine.

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