BERLIN: Germany has announced it will not follow France in calling a snap election despite the significant setback suffered by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition in the European Union parliamentary elections, a spokesman for Scholz said on Monday.
Steffen Hebestreit, a spokesman for Chancellor Scholz, said that the regular election date is set for next autumn, and the government intends to adhere to that schedule. “The regular election date is next autumn. And that is what we plan to do.”
Preliminary results from the EU elections showed a disappointing performance for the ruling coalition, with all three parties trailing behind the conservatives and the far-right. The Social Democrats (SPD), led by Chancellor Scholz, recorded their lowest result in history at 14 percent, placing third behind the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) at approximately 16 percent and significantly behind the conservative CDU-CSU bloc, which secured 30 percent of the vote. The Greens garnered 12 percent support, while the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) received five percent.
Following the electoral outcome, opposition parties called on Chancellor Scholz to follow French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision and call for a snap election. Alice Weidel, co-leader of the AfD, said that Germany had effectively “voted out the chancellor” and the ruling government. Weidel urged Scholz to pave the way for new elections.
“There is now only one task left for Scholz: clear the way for new elections — instead of governing for another year against a large majority of the population,” Weidel wrote on X.
Similarly, Markus Soeder, leader of the conservatives in Bavaria, also called for new elections, asserting that the current coalition no longer enjoys the support of the populace.
French President Macron has called snap elections for June 30 and July 7 after his centrist alliance lost to the far right in the EU elections.
