BERLIN — Germany will hold its federal snap election on Sunday Feb. 23, 2025, lawmakers and officials in three of the major parties told POLITICO.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to hold a vote of confidence before Christmas, paving the way for the new election in February. His fractious three-party coalition collapsed last week after several months of rising acrimony due to sharp disagreements on spending and economic stimulus.
Scholz initially said he would hold a confidence vote on Jan. 15, paving the way for a new election by the end of March. But leaders of other parties, including Friedrich Merz, the leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), urged Scholz to speed up that timeline, arguing Germany couldn’t afford a prolonged period of political paralysis.
Merz’s CDU and their conservative Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), are currently leading in polls by a wide margin, on 32 percent support, and will likely lead any future coalition government with Merz as chancellor. Scholz’s SPD, on the other hand, is polling third on 16 percent, just behind the far-right AfD.
This developing story is being updated.
