German chancellor Olaf Scholz requests confidence vote for next week

Scholz is expected to lose the vote in the German parliament's lower house, or Bundestag, which will take place on 16 December.

Transcript

00:00German Chancellor Olaf Scholz formally set his country on course for an early election by requesting a confidence vote in parliament next week.

00:10The move comes five weeks after his three-party governing coalition collapsed.

00:16I have just applied for a vote according to article 68 of the Basic Law.

00:23I would like to clear the way for the proposed parliamentary elections.

00:28I will propose to dissolve the parliament on Monday afternoon.

00:46If the president follows Scholz's proposal, voters will elect a new parliament on February 23rd.

00:52Meanwhile, the Christian Democrats led by Friedrich Merz and their Bavarian sister party are ahead in the polls.

00:59The far-right Alternative for Germany has also nominated a candidate.