German coalition government collapses: Chancellor Scholz fires Finance Minister Lindner

The ruling German coalition has collapsed: Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the Social Democrats (SPD) has sacked Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Liberals (FDP).

The leaders of what is known in Germany as the "traffic light coalition" - SPD, FDP and the Greens - had gathered at the chancellery in Berlin in the evening.

About an hour after the news was broken by several media outlets, Chancellor Scholz faced the press and criticised his finance minister in no uncertain terms:

Lindner "has broken my trust too many times", Scholz said, adding that there is "no more basis of trust for further cooperation". The FDP leader is "more concerned with his own clientele and the survival of his own party", Scholz remarked.

The coalition leaders meeting was widely reported as a "make or break" meeting for the coalition, with Lindner, in particular, having hinted in the run-up that he was not too worried about the latter.

Discord about how to revive an ailing economy

The coalition had been at odds for a while, with serious strains on the budget for 2025 and a disappointing performance by the German economy eliciting increasingly different suggestions on how to face and solve the problems.

Many coalition lawmakers had hoped that in the aftermath of Donald Trump securing the US presidency once more, internal strife could be put aside to focus on the geopolitical challenges ahead.

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil told German public broadcaster ARD in the morning: "I hope that everyone will now throw party tactics overboard, that everyone will look each other in the eye in the coalition committee this evening and realise once again what responsibility they now bear".

Alas, it was not to be. Political analyst Thu Nguyen, Deputy Director at the Berlin based think tank Jacques Delors Centre commented on social media:

Scholz also confirmed to bring a no-confidence vote to the Bundestag on 15 January, paving the way for parliamentary elections by end of March at the latest.