Olaf Scholz signals readiness for earlier confidence vote on German government

(Patria) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday he is willing to call for a confidence vote in parliament before Christmas, paving the way for early elections after the collapse of his three-party ruling coalition, Reuters reported.

The timing is earlier than the January date he proposed last week and follows growing pressure from politicians and the public for a faster vote. Europe's largest economy was thrown into disarray last week by the collapse of Scholz's coalition and disagreements over how much money the government should spend to boost growth and support Ukraine.

"I'm not clinging to my job," he said in an interview on ARD television.

Scholz proposed holding a confidence vote on his government on January 15, with early elections in March, but the conservative opposition led by Friedrich Merz wants elections in January.

A confidence vote is a necessary precursor to elections. Earlier on Sunday, Scholz was under increasing pressure to hold a confidence vote.

Two leading members of the Greens party, which shares power with Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) in a minority government, told Bild that the confidence vote should be held in December.

Anton Hofreiter and Irene Mihalic of the Greens were the most prominent voices from the two parties still in power supporting an earlier vote.

In the ARD interview, Scholz said an earlier confidence vote would depend on whether SPD official Rolf Muecenich and opposition leader Merz reach an agreement on timing.

"I have no problem at all with scheduling a confidence vote before Christmas," he said.

On Friday, Scholz called for a calm debate among Germany's feuding factions on setting a date for early elections to pull the country out of its political crisis. He urged parties to first agree on laws that could be passed in what remains of the current parliament, but denied trying to push through his political agenda by delaying the elections.