German Legislators Cancel Budget Meeting Amid Political Uncertainty

By Holger Hansen
BERLIN (Reuters) – German legislators on Monday scrapped a crucial budget planning meeting as parties continued to wrangle over the timing of an election to end a period of political uncertainty after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition broke up last week.

The cancellation of what was to have been the final meeting of the parliamentary budgetary committee this week risks delaying Germany's 2025 budget at a time when calls are mounting for government intervention to avert the economic crisis in Europe's largest economy.

Scholz's government has been without a parliamentary majority since Wednesday when the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) quit the coalition over its more left-wing partners' desire to spend more, using government borrowing if necessary.

The scrapping of the committee meeting makes it less likely that a majority can be cobbled together in the Bundestag to approve a budget, even if Scholz's Social Democrats and the Greens, who remain in government, manage to propose one.

The opposition conservatives, comfortably ahead in polls, say Scholz is delaying the election for political gain, hoping to score political wins in the time remaining before a vote takes place.

They want President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to intervene to force an earlier election to ensure Germany has a strong government as soon as possible.

"I call on the President to remind the Chancellor of his constitutional duties," said senior conservative legislator Matthias Middelberg.

Scholz, who originally planned to hold fresh elections by the end of March, on Sunday signalled willingness to ask the Bundestag to dismiss him earlier if leaders of the parliamentary parties decided that was necessary.

That could lead to earlier elections, though possibly at the cost of overburdening a bureaucracy unused to organising votes to such tight deadlines. Planning elections over the winter period, when many days are lost to public holidays and illness, is harder than in the traditional spring and summer months.

The heads of the national and regional election committees are due to hold a video conference on Monday to discuss how soon an election can be held.