Germany's Scholz to submit parliament request to hold confidence vote

By Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is set on Wednesday to submit a request to parliament to hold a vote of confidence, the necessary precursor to holding new federal elections after the collapse of his coalition last month.

Policymaking has largely ground to a halt since Scholz's fractious coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) imploded, leaving him heading a minority government.

Germany's political system however does not allow the head of government to simply call for new elections as it is designed to ensure stability and give other branches of power such as parliament and the presidency a say in such important matters.

A government spokesperson told Reuters Scholz would make the request for a vote of confidence in writing on Wednesday.

Scholz is expected to lose the vote, slated for Dec. 16, as his government no longer has a majority. He must then request the president to dissolve parliament, triggering new elections.

The vote will come just ten days after former French Prime Minister Michel Barnier lost a no-confidence vote, underscoring the unusual degree of political instability plaguing both of Europe's top powers.

Scholz has agreed with the opposition to hold the vote on Feb. 23, setting Germany up for a short and wintry election campaign.

Currently the opposition conservatives are on track to win, with a poll published on Monday putting them on 31%, followed by the far-right Alternative for Germany on 18%, Scholz's SPD on 17% and the Greens on 13%.

The FDP and newly-created Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance are currently both polling just under the 5% threshold to enter parliament on 4%.

However, analysts say polls can shift quickly, with voters less loyal to parties than they once were, recalling the 2021 election campaign when the conservatives went from frontrunner to runner-up within a few months.

The conservatives' leader Friedrich Merz in particular is considered to be prone to gaffes and quick to anger.

Scholz will become the fifth chancellor in Germany's post-World War Two history to pose a vote of confidence.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Sarah Marsh; Editing by Angus MacSwan)