German President dissolves parliament and calls Feb 23 election

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday dissolved Germany's lower house of parliament to pave the way for snap elections on Feb. 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition. "Especially in difficult times, like now, stability requires a government capable of acting, and reliable majorities in parliament," which was why early elections were the right way forward for Germany, Steinmeier said in Berlin. After the elections, problem-solving must become the core business of politics again, added Steinmeier in a speech.
The president, whose post has been largely ceremonial in the post-war era, also called for the election campaign to be conducted fairly and transparently. Scholz, a Social Democrat who will head a caretaker government until a new one can be formed, lost a confidence vote in parliament earlier this month after the departure of Finance Minister Christian Lindner's Free Democrats left his unwieldy governing coalition without a legislative majority.The conservatives hold a comfortable lead of more than 10 points over the SPD in most polls. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is slightly ahead of Scholz’s party, while the Greens, a coalition party, are in fourth place.The mainstream parties have refused to govern with the AfD, but its presence complicates the parliamentary arithmetic, making unwieldy coalitions more likely.