German Chancellor Scholz requests confidence vote on path to election

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sent a request to parliament on Wednesday to hold a vote of confidence on Dec. 16, setting a path to an early federal election next year after the collapse of his coalition last month.

Policymaking in Europe's biggest economy has largely ground to a halt since Scholz's fractious coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) imploded, leaving him heading a minority government.

If, as expected, Scholz loses the confidence vote, he must then ask the president to dissolve parliament, triggering fresh elections. Scholz has agreed with the opposition to hold the election on Feb. 23.

Last week, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier lost a no-confidence vote, underscoring the unusual degree of political instability plaguing both of Europe's top powers.

Polls suggest the opposition conservatives are on track to win the federal election, with a survey on Monday putting them on 31%, followed by the far-right Alternative for Germany on 18%, Scholz's SPD on 17% and the Greens on 13%.

The FDP and the newly-created Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance are both polling just under the 5% threshold to enter parliament but analysts say voters can shift quickly as they are less loyal than they once were.