German government coalition collapses as Scholz sacks Finance Minister Lindner
Christian Lindner’s liberals are making demands for economic reforms that are hard for other coalition members to accept.

November 6, 2024 9:01 pm CET
By Hans von der Burchard and Rasmus Buchsteiner

BERLIN — Germany’s three-party ruling coalition collapsed on Wednesday evening after Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced he would fire his Finance Minister Christian Lindner over persistent disagreements about economic reforms.

Many in Germany had hoped that the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. election earlier in the day would force the coalition to hold together over fears that the incoming president would give Europe’s biggest economy a hard ride — targeting its all-important car industry in a trade war.

Ultimately, however, not even the looming threat of Trump proved enough for the fractious parties to put aside their differences.

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