Bavarian Premier Markus Söder called today for an early German federal election, arguing that voters have lost faith in the country’s ruling three-party coalition following a constitutional court ruling that has plunged Germany into a budget crisis.
“The whole traffic light system [i.e. coalition] is not working,” Söder, the conservative leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “That’s why a fundamental change is needed.” Early elections, he added, “would be the right way forward.”
Söder’s call for an early election comes as the government grapples with the political fallout of a major budgetary crisis. Earlier this month, the country’s top court ruled it had been unconstitutional to repurpose €60 billion left over from an emergency COVID-19 fund for climate projects. More broadly, the ruling also limits the government’s ability to draw from a variety of special funds created to circumvent the country’s constitutionally enshrined debt brake, which restricts the federal deficit to 0.35 percent of GDP except in times of emergency.
As the government struggles to manage the practical ramifications of the ruling, Finance Minister Christian Lindner, leader of the economically liberal Free Democrats (FDP), signaled last week that he will seek to suspend the debt brake for 2023 by retroactively declaring an emergency. On Monday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cabinet approved a supplementary budget for 2023 to be submitted to the Bundestag for approval.
The crisis has forced the government to freeze new spending and to put approval of next year’s budget on hold.
Germany’s ruling coalition was already suffering from historically low approval ratings even before the budget crisis. Söder’s call for an early election illustrates how the country’s center-right opposition is now seeking to capitalize on the disarray sparked by the ruling.
Söder also slammed Lindner, saying he doesn’t believe his FDP is “still in a position to be a stable government partner in the long term.”
Amid growing calls, particularly on the political left, for the debt brake to be reformed to increase financial wiggle room, Söder said on Monday that he does not support a reform or the abolition of the rule, according to German news.
Söder said an early federal election could take place on June 9 in order to coincide with EU elections.
BAVARIA PARLIAMENT ELECTION POLL OF POLLS
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