German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had hoped for this outcome when he called for the confidence vote, analysts say. His aim: to win fresh elections in February and come back with a stronger mandate.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has lost a confidence vote in the German parliament, putting the European Union’s most populous member and biggest economy on course to hold an early election in February.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday lost a confidence vote in the country's Bundestag, clearing the path for an early election in February.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz faces a confidence vote on Monday he is expected to lose, paving the way for which will likely to put Germany on course for a snap election early next year, after the collapse of his governing coalition plunged the country into uncertainty.

The result paves the way for snap elections to be held on 23 February, with polls indicating Germany could be heading for a right-wing shift in power.View on euronews

Germany is expected to hold a snap election in February next year. Political turmoil at the heart of Europe is also taking place in France.

Embattled German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote, the first step in a sequence of events that will lead to early elections next year.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany called for the confidence vote after his three-party coalition broke up. Lawmakers voted to dissolve the existing government by a vote of 394 to 207, with 116 abstaining.