Germany's embattled Scholz open to talks on early election

First the vote of confidence, then we can talk about issues,

conservative MP Alexander Dobrindt told the Rheinische Post newspaper

You, Mr Scholz, have tried and failed,

Bild editor Marion Horn wrote in a blistering commentary

We should discuss the date as calmly as possible. It would be good if the democratic factions in the Bundestag could now reach an agreement on which laws can still be passed this year,

Scholz said on the sidelines of an EU summit

In cooperation with the future Trump administration, we need a government that confidently represents German and European interests,

Link told Reuters

This might enable Scholz to blame the CDU/CSU – together with the just-removed FDP – for their voting record on the specific policies, and for general irresponsibility in a moment of heightened domestic and global political stakes,

it said

We should discuss the [election] date as calmly as possible,

Scholz said on the sidelines of an EU summit in Budapest on Friday

I am ready to offer my experience, my strength and my responsibility, if you want, also as chancellor,

Habeck said in a nearly nine-minute video posted on Friday, which featured him sitting at a kitchen table

This consensus could then answer the question of which moment is the right one to pose the confidence question in the Bundestag, ... also with regard to the right potential date for the next election."

Scholz said,

On Wednesday evening already I made clear that I wanted to quickly make early elections possible in Germany, so that clarity can soon return after the exit of the FDP from the coalition,

Scholz said

I believe that it can be done if we are all of good intentions,

he said,

This will make an impression in America,

he said on a talk show aired by German public broadcaster ZDF on Thursday evening

One question is quite clear. Together as the European Union, as Europeans, we must do what is necessary for our security,

he said

We call on the CDU/CSU and the FDP to finally accept their civic responsibility and to reach an agreement with us. After all, we represent millions of voters,

said Alice Weidel in response to the end of the coalition

We can't work with this party. That would spell the end of the CDU."

This radicalism was one of the reasons why CDU party chairman Friedrich Merz said in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland in August 2024

I would also advise getting this done in the last few months before the next general election, because it will continue to ruin the budget of the federal government,

said AfD co-chairman Tino Chrupalla

Chancellor Scholz has long lost the trust of the German people and he must clear the way for a new election immediately,

Alice Weidel, co-chair of the far-right AfD, put it after the government collapsed on Wednesday

We also want to finally see an end to this marginalization,

Chrupalla said

He owes it to this country to step down as soon as possible,

Weidel added

We want an end to the integration of illegal migrants into the social system, the deportation of criminals who have already been ordered to leave the country, and we want to close the borders,

he said

We discussed the outcome of the US election. That's right and necessary because the US is Europe's most important ally,

Scholz said