German President Dissolves Parliament for Snap Election

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has officially dissolved the national parliament and scheduled a snap election for February 23. This move supports Chancellor Olaf Scholz's plan after he ended his ruling coalition last month.

Chancellor Scholz, from the Social Democrat party, severed alliances with the Greens and Free Democrats following a disagreement over government borrowing. This action, which resulted in Scholz losing his majority in the Bundestag, necessitated the early national election, only seven months before his four-year term was set to end.

With the election approaching, the main opposition, led by Friedrich Merz, is ahead in the polls. Scholz's SPD party ranks third, behind the far-right Alternative for Germany and the Greens, who currently hold around 13% of the vote. The FDP faces challenges, polling at 4%, risking exclusion from parliament.

Lars Klingbeil, an SPD co-leader, is optimistic about narrowing the gap with conservatives, recalling that in the previous election, the SPD gained nearly 26% in the final weeks, surpassing the CDU/CSU’s 24%.

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