BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that he will ask for a vote of confidence on Dec. 16, paving the way for early parliamentary elections in February.
He declared his plans during a speech in parliament, a week after his three-party coalition government collapsed.
Germany has been governed since 2021 by a coalition led by Scholz’s left-leaning Social Democrats and which included the smaller pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens.
It was an uneasy and fractious alliance, and it collapsed last week when Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats in a late-night move following disagreements over how to revive the shrinking economy.
“The date at the end of February has now been set and I am very grateful for that,” Scholz said, adding that he would try to pass important legislation through parliament before that, such as financial support for children of poor families, or amendments to the country’s constitution to make the highest court more resilient to possible political interference.
He said he would submit a request for a vote of confidence on Dec. 11, so that the Bundestag can decide on this on Dec. 16. The chancellor had initially wanted to have an early election only by late March — ahead of the vote that is regularly scheduled for September 2025.
However, the center-right Christian opposition pushed for a quicker vote in the parliament to speed up the next election.
In the end, party leaders across the political spectrum agreed on Wednesday on the two dates for the vote of confidence and the new election on Feb. 23.
During his speech, Scholz as well as Friedrich Merz, the head of the main opposition party in parliament, the Christian Democrats, already shifted into campaign mode — though the heated part of campaigning usually only begins around six weeks before an election in Germany.
“There is a great sense of relief in our country. For a week now, the so-called progressive coalition (...) has been history. And that is continuing good news for Germany,” Merz said to the applause of his Christian Democrats as he spoke after Scholz in the parliament.
Four candidates are expected to make their bid for the chancellery with voters in February.
Scholz has said that he wants to run as chancellor candidate again — even though his party has not yet announced his candidacy.
Merz of the Christian Democrats, which are currently leading the polls, was officially nominated as candidate by his party in September.
For the environmentalist Greens, the country’s current economy minister and vice chancellor, Robert Habeck, will lead his party as candidate for chancellor and
The Greens are a small party that lost popularity in recent elections and whose support currently hovers around 10 percent, which means it is unlikely that he would end up as the country’s leader.
The far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has said they would nominate current party leader Alice Weidel next month as their candidate.
Merz’s Christian Democrats have been polling around 30 percent or more in the polls for a year now. Scholz’s Social Democrats, currently the strongest governing party, are on third place with around 16 percent — behind the AfD, which is at around 19 percent.
The main campaign issues are likely going to be the country’s ailing econom y which led to the collapse of the government in the first place, more efficient control of migration, and — when it comes to foreign policy issues — Russia’s war on Ukraine and the next presidency of Donald Trump.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he’ll ask for a vote of confidence in December
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he’ll ask for a vote of confidence in December
- He declared his plans during a speech in parliament, a week after his three-party coalition government collapsed
- Germany has been governed since 2021 by a coalition led by Scholz’s left-leaning Social Democrats and which included the smaller pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens
Lufthansa adds more flights to Asia, Africa as Middle East war reshapes air travel
- Airlines across Europe have been redirecting capacity after suspending services in the Middle East
- Lufthansa said the move also helps meet demand on long-haul routes that Middle Eastern carriers cannot currently serve
LONDON: Lufthansa said on Friday it was shifting capacity from 10 canceled Middle Eastern destinations to routes such as Singapore and Bangkok as it contends with disruption from the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Airlines across Europe, including budget carrier Wizz Air , have been redirecting capacity after suspending services in the Middle East.
Lufthansa said the move also helps meet demand on long-haul routes that Middle Eastern carriers cannot currently serve.
Airline stocks have slumped this week as US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran — and retaliatory strikes by Iran across the Middle East — have disrupted long-haul flights and sent oil prices soaring.
“The war in the Middle East proves once again how exposed air traffic is and how vulnerable it remains,” Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said in a statement. He added the outlook was uncertain, particularly for jet fuel costs.
The schedule changes came as the German group reported better-than-expected 2025 results, saying stricter financial management and fleet renewal had helped contain costs and lift profits. Its shares rose as much as 4 percent, before reversing to trade down 1.2 percent at 1246 GMT.
The company said demand on routes to and from Asia and Africa had risen strongly since the conflict began on Saturday, and it would stick with its focus on expanding long-haul services. Spohr said new flights to Asia would launch in days.
Lufthansa did say how many services it had canceled because of the conflict.
While carriers face costs for rescheduling and rerouting, the biggest impact for those outside the Middle East is expected from surging fuel prices. Brent crude futures have jumped more than 20 percent this week.
Spohr said Lufthansa was well hedged in the short term. The group hedges fuel up to 24 months ahead and was 85 percent hedged as of December 31, according to its annual report.
RESILIENCE
European carriers, including Lufthansa, benefited from slightly lower fuel bills in 2025. Lufthansa’s fuel bill fell 7 percent, helping support earnings as passenger demand stayed firm.
“Last year we were able to significantly increase the Group’s operating profit and achieved the highest revenue in our history. Our results demonstrate the resilience and stability of the Group,” Spohr said.
Lufthansa reported an adjusted operating profit of 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion), compared with 1.9 billion euros forecast in a company-compiled analyst poll and up from 1.6 billion euros in 2024. The group also posted an operating margin of 4.9 percent, up from 4.4 percent a year earlier.
Lufthansa aims to lift operating margins to 8 percent-10 percent between 2028 and 2030 from 4.4 percent in 2024, but strikes by workers, including the most recent on February 12, have made it harder to boost profitability.
Bernstein analyst Alex Irving said ongoing weakness in the passenger airline segment persisted, but that strong performances in Cargo and Lufthansa Technik helped lift profits.
The carrier said the outlook for 2026 was unclear due to geopolitical uncertainty. It projected capacity growth of 4 percent, alongside increased revenue and profit margin.
