Germany's Scholz fires ‘egotistic’ finance minister

STORY: :: November 6, 2024

:: Berlin, Germany

:: Germany’s Scholz sacks finance minister

Christian Lindner, seeks confidence vote

:: He says Lindner broke his trust

‘too many times’ and blocked lawmaking

:: Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have just asked the President for the dismissal of the Finance Minister. I feel forced to take this step in order to avert damage from our country. We need a government that is able to act, that has the strength to make the necessary decisions for our country. That’s what was important to me in the past three years. That’s what’s important to me now. I have made another comprehensive offer to the Free Democrats coalition partner at noon today how we can close the gap in the federal budget without throwing our country into chaos.”

“Too many times did Finance Minister Lindner block laws irrelevantly. Too many times did he act to serve his clientele and party. Too many times did he break my trust. Even the agreement on the budget was withdrawn by him after we had agreed on it in long negotiations. There is no basis of trust for further cooperation. This way, serious government work is impossible.”

“In the very first week of the parliamentary session in the new year, I will call for the confidence vote so that the Bundestag can then vote on it on January 15. That way, parliamentarians can decide if they want to pave the way for a snap election. That election could then take place at the latest by the end of March while respecting the rules of the constitution.”

After firing Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats (FDP) party, Scholz is expected to head a minority government with his Social Democrats and the Greens, the second-largest party.

He would have to rely on cobbled-together parliamentary majorities to pass legislation and he plans to hold a parliamentary confidence vote in his government on Jan. 15.

The collapse of Scholz’s three-way alliance caps months of wrangling over budget policy and Germany’s economic direction, with the government’s popularity sinking and far-right and far-left forces surging.

“We need a government that is able to act, that has the strength to make the necessary decisions for our country,” Scholz told reporters.

Scholz said he fired Lindner for his obstructive behaviour on budget disputes, accusing the minister of putting party before country and blocking legislation on spurious grounds.

The move comes a day after the election of Republican Donald Trump as U.S. president, with Europe scrambling to form a united response on issues from possible new U.S. tariffs to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the future of the NATO alliance.