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Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, right, speaks with aide Joerg Kukies at the COP27 climate conference at the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022.
Islam Safwat | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Jörg Kukies was appointed as Germany’s new finance minister on Thursday, as pressure mounts on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to call for a confidence vote and trigger snap elections after the dissolution of his ruling three-way coalition.
Kukies replaces Christian Lindner, whom Scholz sacked on late Wednesday, citing the need to protect Germany from economic damage. The Chancellor also called Lindner out for allegedly not caring about the common good and said there was no longer any basis of trust to continue working together.
Lindner’s sacking effectively put an end to the ruling coalition comprised of Scholz’ social democrats (SPD), Lindner’s free democrats (FDP) and the Green party, which came into power after the last German federal election in 2021. The alliance had been struggling for some time, clashing frequently over differing economy and budget policy views.
Lindner was officially dismissed by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, along with the justice and education and research ministers, who are also part of FDP. Germany’s Minister for Digital and Transport Volker Wissing — who was also a party member — said in a statement to the press that he would stay on in his role, but leave the FDP.
On Thursday, Steinmeier announced that, in addition to his previous role, Wissing will also take over as justice minister.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (l-r, SPD), Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Jörg Kukies (SPD), new Federal Minister of Finance, Volker Wissing, Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport and new Federal Minister of Justice, Christian Lindner (FDP), former Federal Minister of Finance, Marco Buschmann (FDP), former Federal Minister of Justice and Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), former Federal Minister of Education at Bellevue Palace.
Kay Nietfeld | dpa | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Who is Jörg Kukies?
A SPD member, new Finance Minister Kukies is a member is seen as a close advisor to Scholz and until now served as a state secretary in the Federal Chancellery focusing on economic, finance and European affairs.
He has previously held a state sectary role within the federal Finance Ministry and worked for Goldman Sachs in Frankfurt and London.
He will face a full agenda, as the German government grapples to agree a contentious 2025 budget that was a key factor in the coalition’s dissolution. The budget was set to be finalized in mid-November prior to the shake-up — but it was not immediately clear whether this timeline could, or would, now change.
Snap election pressure
Following the events of Wednesday, Scholz said he would call for a vote of confidence in himself on Jan. 15, which opens the door for an early federal election by the end of March next year. An electoral vote was originally scheduled to be held in the fall of 2025.
Pressure for Scholz to table such a vote sooner picked up on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference earlier in the session, Lindner called for an immediate confidence vote and for fresh elections. Latest polls show Linder’s FDP below the 5% threshold they would need to cross in an election to enter the German parliament.
His comments echo those of opposition leader Friedrich Merz, part of the Christian democratic party (CDU) that is currently leading in polls. In a press conference, Merz said a confidence vote should be held as soon as next week and that there was “no reason at all” to wait until January.