President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday dissolved Germany's lower house of parliament to pave the way for snap elections on Feb. 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition.
"Especially in difficult times, like now, stability requires a government capable of acting, and reliable majorities in parliament," which was why early elections were the right way forward for Germany, Steinmeier said in Berlin.
After the elections, problem-solving must become the core business of politics again, added Steinmeier in a speech.
The president, whose post has been largely ceremonial in the post-war era, also called for the election campaign to be conducted fairly and transparently.
"External influence is a danger to democracy, whether it is covert, as was evidently the case recently in the Romanian elections, or open and blatant, as is currently being practiced particularly intensively on (social media) platform X," he said.
Scholz, a Social Democrat who will head a caretaker government until a new one can be formed, lost a confidence vote in parliament earlier this month after the departure of Finance Minister Christian Lindner's Free Democrats left his unwieldy governing coalition without a legislative majority.
The vote also kicked off election campaigning in earnest, with conservative challenger Friedrich Merz, who surveys suggest is likely to replace Scholz, asserting that the incumbent government had imposed excessive regulations and stifled growth.
The conservatives hold a comfortable lead of more than 10 points over the Social Democrats (SPD) in most polls. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is slightly ahead of the SPD, while the Greens, a coalition partner, are in fourth place.
The mainstream parties have refused to govern with the AfD, but its presence complicates the parliamentary arithmetic, making shaky coalitions more likely.
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AZAL has released the crew list for flight J2-8243, which crashed in Aktau today.
Farid Huseynov, Head of the AZAL Press Department, has confirmed that a total of 67 people were on board the plane involved in the recent incident, including 62 passengers and 5 crew members.
Mexico detains 475,000 migrants since October, as President-elect Trump pressures Mexico with tariff threats over illegal border crossings.
NATO boosts Baltic Sea presence after suspected sabotage of undersea cables, while Finland and Estonia investigate Russian-linked ship for causing critical infrastructure damage.
Elon Musk is facing backlash from the right after suggesting the U.S. needs more skilled foreign workers to address a shortage of top engineers. His comments, made amid mass tech layoffs and ongoing debates over the H1-B visa system, have sparked outrage, particularly from pro-Trump conservatives.
The long-anticipated China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Project commenced construction on December 27, marking a pivotal step in enhancing trade and connectivity across Central Asia.
Local authorities have confirmed that two sailors were killed in the sailor race, marking the first loss of life in this prestigious ocean race since 1998.
Mexico detains 475,000 migrants since October, as President-elect Trump pressures Mexico with tariff threats over illegal border crossings.
NATO boosts Baltic Sea presence after suspected sabotage of undersea cables, while Finland and Estonia investigate Russian-linked ship for causing critical infrastructure damage.
Elon Musk is facing backlash from the right after suggesting the U.S. needs more skilled foreign workers to address a shortage of top engineers. His comments, made amid mass tech layoffs and ongoing debates over the H1-B visa system, have sparked outrage, particularly from pro-Trump conservatives.
The Kremlin has declined to comment on the Azerbaijani Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan, saying that they are waiting for the official investigation results.
The long-anticipated China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Project commenced construction on December 27, marking a pivotal step in enhancing trade and connectivity across Central Asia.
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