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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner, the head of a party that is part of Berlin’s three-party coalition.
The decision strips the ruling traffic light coalition of its majority, and raises the possibility of an early election.
In a press conference Wednesday, Scholz sharply criticized Lindner and said that he is calling for a vote of confidence in January. Scholz would likely lose the vote, paving the way for a snap election. “New elections could then take place by the end of March at the latest,” he said.
The coalition breakdown comes at a crucial time for Germany with Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. The Republican is widely seen as having a grudge against Berlin, and European officials had hoped for strong leadership from the continent’s largest economy to help them navigate the transatlantic relationship in years to come.
Lindner’s liberal party had demanded economic reforms that Scholz’s social democrats and the Greens were unwilling to accept, such as cutting social benefits and reducing taxes.