Germany’s Olaf Scholz fires finance minister, bringing ruling coalition to chaotic end
The chancellor says he sacked Christian Lindner for obstructive behaviour on budget disputes, accusing him of putting party before country
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sacked his finance minister on Wednesday and said he will hold a parliamentary confidence vote in the government in January, triggering political chaos in Europe’s largest economy hours after Donald Trump won the US presidential election.
After sacking Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats (FDP) party, Scholz is expected to head a minority government, either alone with his Social Democrats or with the Greens, the second-largest party, relying on cobbled-together parliamentary majorities.
The collapse of Scholz’s three-way coalition 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 US president, with Europe scrambling to form a united response on issues from possible new US tariffs to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the future of the Nato alliance.
