New finance minister appointed in Germany as election pressure intensifies

• On Thursday, Germany appointed Jörg Kukies as its new finance minister as pressure builds on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to call for a confidence vote and trigger snap elections following the dissolution of his ruling coalition.
• Christian Lindner was sacked by Scholz and replaced by Kukies on Wednesday.
• Scholz declared that he would conduct a confidence vote in January, with the aim of March elections, but there is mounting pressure on him to speed up the timeline.

On Thursday, Germany appointed Jörg Kukies as its new finance minister amid mounting pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to call for a confidence vote and trigger snap elections following the dissolution of his ruling three-way coalition.

Scholz removed Christian Lindner from his position as finance minister on Wednesday, stating that it was necessary to safeguard Germany's economy. Additionally, the Chancellor accused Lindner of disregarding the common good and questioned the trustworthiness of their working relationship.

The coalition government, consisting of Scholz's social democrats (SPD), Lindner's free democrats (FDP), and the Green party, was brought to an end by Lindner's dismissal. The alliance had been facing challenges for some time, particularly over differing views on economy and budget policy.

The German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, dismissed Lindner and the justice and education and research ministers, who are members of FDP. Germany's Minister for Digital and Transport, Volker Wissing, who is also a party member, stated that he would remain in his position but leave FDP.

Steinmeier declared on Thursday that Wissing would assume the role of justice minister in addition to his previous duties.

Who is Jörg Kukies?

New Finance Minister Kukies, who is an SPD member, is considered a close advisor to Scholz and previously served as a state secretary in the Federal Chancellery, focusing on economic, finance, and European affairs.

He has previously held a state secretary role in the federal Finance Ministry and worked for Goldman Sachs in Frankfurt and London.

The German government is facing a full agenda as they struggle to agree on a contentious 2025 budget, which was a key factor in the coalition's dissolution. The budget was originally set to be finalized in mid-November, but it is unclear whether this timeline will now change due to the shake-up.

Snap election pressure

Scholz announced that he would hold a vote of confidence in himself on January 15, which could lead to an early federal election by the end of March 2023. Originally, an electoral vote was scheduled for the fall of 2025.

Pressure for Scholz to table such a vote sooner picked up on Thursday.

Earlier in the session, Lindner urged for an immediate confidence vote and new elections as recent polls indicate that his FDP party falls short of the 5% threshold required to enter the German parliament.

Friedrich Merz, the opposition leader and a member of the Christian democratic party (CDU), which currently leads in polls, echoed his comments in a press conference. He suggested that a confidence vote be held as soon as next week and stated that there was "no reason at all" to delay it until January.