Chancellor Olaf Scholz has formally set Germany on course for an early election by requesting a confidence vote in parliament next week.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz plans to file a petition with the lower house of parliament on Wednesday requesting a confidence vote next Monday that will trigger a snap election in late February.

Germany's embattled Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday launched the process expected to lead to early elections on February 23 in Europe's biggest economy, which is mired in political and financial troubles.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had few alternatives after his three-party coalition broke up, is widely expected to lose when Parliament takes up the measure on Monday.

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.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz requested the vote be held early next week, setting the stage for a general election in early 2025.

The chancellor's procedural move will allow for a vote Monday where the bloc of the leading candidate to replace him, Friedrich Merz, and other opposition parties are expected to declare they have no confidence in the government.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sent a request to parliament on Wednesday to hold a vote of confidence on Dec. 16, setting a path to an early federal election next year after the collapse of his coalition.

Monday’s vote of confidence in Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the German parliament, which he'll almost certainly lose, is just the latest step in a process that started in early November and culminates in a snap election on Feb.