German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday dissolved parliament and called for new elections on Feb. 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition.
Scholz's coalition, which became increasingly fractious, disbanded on Nov. 6 after he fired his finance minister amid disagreements on how to address Germany's struggling economy.
On Dec. 16, Scholz lost a confidence vote, leaving him to lead a minority government.
Steinmeier explained that after consulting with party leaders, it became clear there was no consensus among Germany's political factions on forming a stable majority in the current parliament.
"It is precisely in difficult times like these that stability requires a government capable of taking action and a reliable majority in parliament,” he said in Berlin.
"Therefore, I am convinced that, for the good of our country, new elections are the right way."
Since the post-World War II constitution does not allow the Bundestag to dissolve itself, it was up to Steinmeier to decide whether to dissolve parliament and call an election.
He had 21 days to make the decision.
Once parliament is dissolved, the election must be held within 60 days. Leaders of several major parties agreed earlier on the election date of Feb. 23, seven months earlier than originally planned.
The campaign is already well underway. Polls show Scholz’s party trailing the conservative opposition Union bloc led by Friedrich Merz.
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck of the environmentalist Greens, the remaining partner in Scholz’s government, is also bidding for the top job, though his party is further behind.
If recent polls hold, the likely next government would be led by Merz as chancellor in coalition with at least one other party.
Key issues include immigration, how to revive the sluggish economy and how best to aid Ukraine in its struggle against Russia.
The populist, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is polling strongly, has nominated Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor but has no chance of taking the job because other parties refuse to work with it.
Germany’s electoral system traditionally produces coalitions, and polls show no party anywhere near an absolute majority on its own. The election is expected to be followed by weeks of negotiations to form a new government.
This marks only the fourth time that the Bundestag has been dissolved ahead of schedule under Germany’s post-World War II constitution.
It also happened under Chancellor Willy Brandt in 1972, Helmut Kohl in 1982, and Gerhard Schroeder in 2005.
Schroeder used a confidence vote to engineer an early election narrowly won by center-right challenger Angela Merkel.
