GERMAN President Frank-Walter Steinmeier ordered the dissolution of parliament today and set new elections for February 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition.

Mr Scholz lost a confidence vote on December 16 and leads a minority government after his unpopular three-party coalition fell apart on November 6 when he sacked finance minister Christian Lindner in a dispute over tackling Germany’s stagnant economy.

Leaders of several major parties then agreed that a parliamentary election should be held on February 23, seven months earlier than originally planned.

Since the post-World War II constitution doesn’t allow the Bundestag to dissolve itself, it was up to President Steinmeier to decide whether to call an election. 

He had 21 days to make that decision. Once parliament is dissolved, the election must be held within 60 days.

Polls show Mr Scholz’s party trailing the right-wing opposition Union bloc led by Friedrich Merz. 

The far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) has nominated Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor.

It’s only the fourth time that the Bundestag has been dissolved ahead of schedule under Germany’s post-war constitution. It happened under chancellors Willy Brandt in 1972, Helmut Kohl in 1982 and Gerhard Schroeder in 2005.