Leading Social Democrats and opposition conservatives reach agreement but date must be approved by president Kate Connolly in Berlin Tue 12 Nov 2024 11.45 CET

Germany is expected to hold a snap election on 23 February after an agreement reached on Tuesday morning by parliamentary factions from the leading Social Democrats and the main conservative opposition CDU/CSU.

The date must be officially confirmed by the president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, but this is considered to be a formality.

The date, once confirmed, would bring clarity after days of infighting and speculation prompted by the collapse of Germany’s three-way coalition government last week.

The government fell after the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, of the Social Democrats, fired his finance minister, Christian Lindner, of the pro-business FDP, in a months-long row over how to fill a multibillion euro hole in the national budget. The FDP in turn withdrew from the coalition, depriving it of a parliamentary majority.