German Chancellor Olaf Scholz tonight sacked Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who is also the leader of the junior coalition partner in the Liberal Democratic Party (FDP) government, and announced the possibility of early elections.

"Today I asked President Frank-Walter Steinmeir to dismiss the Minister of Finance. I feel compelled to make this move because we need an effective government," said the German chancellor from the SPD in an extraordinary press conference.

Scholz explained that in sessions of the Upper and Lower Houses of the Bundestag, he will try to pass laws "that cannot be delayed" by the end of the year.

The German chancellor has announced that in the first session of the Bundestag in the new year he will raise the question of confidence in his social-democratic-green-liberal government and if this confidence is not shown, he will start the procedure for announcing early elections at the end of March 2025. Regular elections were scheduled for September 2025.

The collapse of the governing coalition in Germany: Scholz will dismiss minister Lindner • KosovaPress

Scholz explained that he will meet Christian Democrat opposition leader Friedrich Merz as soon as possible "as Germany cannot wait".

The CDU/CSU has repeatedly called on Scholz to dissolve the government and call early elections in recent weeks. Previously, Scholz explained how today he offered a solution for the budget to Minister Lindner and the FDP, but he also rejected this proposal.

"After and again in the last three years, I have tried to find ways to combine different interests within the government," Scholz said, adding that Minister Lindner "too often violated trust and previous agreements."

Such selfishness, a day after such an important event as the US election, is unacceptable, Scholz said.

The main representatives of the coalition parties have been trying for days to find common guidelines on government policy, especially on the 2025 budget, which the government has been debating for months.

While the SPD and the Greens are in favor of a bigger budget that would also include aid for the ailing auto industry, Lindner and the FDP insist on austerity measures. During Chancellor Scholz's press conference, the FDP announced its withdrawal from the coalition government.