Germany’s traffic-light coalition was doomed from the start

Germany’s ruling traffic-light coalition – which has looked shaky since it was formed three years ago – has finally collapsed. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he had no trust in his finance minister Christian Lindner, who leads the Free Democrats. Scholz’s decision to act against Lindner follows months of disagreements between Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Free Democrats and the Greens over budget policy and the country’s economic direction. A vote of confidence, which could pave the way for early elections, will take place early next year. As the ruling coalition has been busy tearing itself apart, Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been making headway, gaining support in several federal states.

The FDP has always been the ideological odd-one-out in the three-party coalition. Lindner’s party is keen on public spending cuts and lower taxes, while Scholz wanted to increase spending and suspend the constitutionally enshrined spending limit.