Germany’s ruling coalition is on the brink of collapse, triggering potential political chaos in Europe’s largest economy.
It means Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Social Democratic Party (SDP) face heading a minority government after sacking his finance minister Christian Lindner from the pro-business Free Democrats Party (FDP).
Mr Scholz made the decision after weeks of disputes among Germany’s coalition partners over ways to boost the country’s ailing economy.
Added to that, the government’s popularity has been sinking while far-right and far-left forces have been surging.
He said Mr Lindner “has broken my trust too often”, and claimed he was focused on the short-term survival of his own party. “This kind of selfishness is utterly incomprehensible,” he added.
The three other FDP ministers – for transport, justice, and education – all voluntarily left the government.
“Olaf Scholz refuses to recognise that our country needs a new economic model,” Mr Lindner said. “Olaf Scholz has showed he doesn’t have the strength to give his country a new boost.”
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Mr Lindner had rejected tax increases or changes to Germany’s strict self-imposed limits on running up debt.
Social Democrats and the Greens, who are also part of the coalition, want to see massive state investment. They had rejected proposals by the FDP to cut welfare programmes.
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It’s not if, but when, the coalition collapses
The German Chancellor is a controlled man, so the uncharacteristic anger on display as he announced he had sacked his finance minister and fixed a vote of confidence for January was telling.
The fractures in Germany’s coalition government have been widening for months.
The ailing economy, dismal showing in the European parliamentary elections and rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) have led to growing questions about when the coalition will collapse, rather than if it will.
Germany’s general election is currently pencilled in for September 2025 but if Olaf Scholz loses the confidence vote on 15 January, then a snap election is likely to take place by the end of March.
Current polls put the party of the former Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), in the lead followed by the AfD.
Using today’s numbers, the most likely scenario would be another coalition government potentially with the CDU, the social democrats and maybe even the Greens.
But all this is jumping ahead.
The hammer blow to the German government coalition on the day Donald Trump was re-elected is a coincidence but it’s also very bad timing.
The return of Trump raises questions around NATO, the war in Ukraine and possible trade wars in the future.
Europe now more than ever needs to be united; a task made more difficult when the leadership of its largest economic power is in crisis.
It leaves Mr Scholz relying on parliamentary majorities to pass legislation.
He plans to hold a confidence vote in his government on 15 January. The result could trigger snap elections by the end of March.
Scholz said he would ask Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative opposition CDU, who are far ahead in polls, for support in passing the budget and boosting military spending.
Mr Merz is due to respond to the request later on Thursday.
Across 2024, Germany’s economy is expected to shrink – or at best flatline – for the second year in a row.
The country has struggled under external shocks and home-grown problems, including red tape and a shortage of skilled labour.
Four people have died and a number of others are in hospital after allegedly being served drinks laced with methanol.
According to reports, six British travellers are among those being treated in Laos, after falling ill last week.
Two Danish women in their 20s and a 56-year-old US citizen are reported to have died in what authorities fear was a mass poisoning.
On Thursday, it was confirmed an Australian woman – named as Bianca Jones, 19, from Melbourne – had become the fourth person to die.
Her friend Holly Bowles is being treated in hospital after calling for medical help at their accommodation, Nana’s Backpackers Hostel.
In a statement given to the Herald Sun, Ms Jones’s family said: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the news that our beloved daughter and sister, Bianca Jones, has passed away.
“She was surrounded by love, and we are comforted by the knowledge that her incredible spirit touched so many lives during her time with us.
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“We want to express our deepest gratitude for the overwhelming support, love, and prayers we’ve received from across Australia.”
One of the British travellers being treated in hospital has been named as Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent.
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According to The Times newspaper, she became ill last week in Vang Vieng – a resort popular with backpackers.
Ms White’s friend, Bethany Clarke, a healthcare worker also from Orpington, posted on a Laos Backpacking Facebook group to warn other travellers.
“Urgent – please avoid all local spirits. Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars,” she wrote.
“Just avoid them as so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”
New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry also confirmed one of its citizens was also unwell in Laos and could be a victim of methanol poisoning.
The UK had previously said that British tanks, anti-tank missiles and other military equipment could be used inside Russia as part of Ukraine’s defence – but had kept restrictions on the use of long-range missiles.
A Russian state news agency cited the ministry as saying the missiles caused no casualties.
Missiles will have a ‘marginal effect’
Sky News’ security and defence editor Deborah Haynes says Ukraine’s allies have been pursuing a strategy of ambiguity and “it remains to be seen whether we get official confirmation on this from the UK or from Ukraine”.
“There is also the uncomfortable reality that Ukraine’s stockpile of Storm Shadow missiles is severely limited, so their use will only have a marginal effect.”
Meanwhile, Sky’s military analystSean Bell says he would be amazed if this attack really marks the first time such a missile has been used by Ukraine to hit inside Russia.
“I would be quite surprised if they haven’t been used for selected targets further on [into Russia] because they are… very, very effective at striking Russian logistics hubs, headquarters, ammunition dumps,” he said.
The same missiles are also used by French forces, using the alternative name SCALP, and are made by the Anglo-French arms manufacturer, MBDA.
What are storm shadow cruise missiles?
The air-to-air missile has a strike capability of nearly 200 miles (300km) – meaning it would potentially allow Ukraine to hit further into Russian territory.
The missile weighs 1.3 tonnes and is just over 5m long.
It is launched from the air, and in theory can be used from Ukraine’s Soviet-made jets.
UK-owned Storm Shadow missiles are made in Stevenage by MBDA. Each cruise missile costs an estimated £2m.
The Storm Shadow was originally developed as a project between the UK and France in the mid 1990s.
It was used in Iraq in 2003, while France, Italy and the UK used it in Libya in 2011.
The missiles have also been used to bomb Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq.
Embassies shut over air attack fears
Earlier, the US and some other Western embassies in Kyiv closed amid fears Russia was preparing a major air attack on the Ukrainian capital.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been asking Kyiv’s allies to give his troops the capability to strike deeper behind Russian lines for over a year.
Mr Biden’s change of policy is linked to changing tactics by the Russians, which began deploying North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces.
The White House is set to announce more military aid for Ukraine worth up to $275m (£217m), the US defence secretary has said.
Lloyd Austin said the support would “meet critical battlefield needs” and would include munitions for rocket systems, artillery and tank weapons, along with anti-personnel landmines.
Russian politician Maria Butina and Donald Trump Jr, the son of US President-elect Donald Trump, both warned that Mr Biden’s decision over Ukraine’s usage of long-range missiles could spark the start of a third world war.
Spain is to legalise about 300,000 undocumented migrants a year – at a time that many European countries are seeking to limit or deter migration.
The policy, approved on Tuesday by Spain’s left-wing minority coalition government, aims to tackle the country’s ageing workforce and low birthrate.
Around 250,000 registered foreign workers a year are needed to maintain the country’s welfare state, according to migration minister Elma Saiz.
The scheme, due to run from May next year until 2027, will allow foreigners living in Spainwithout proper documentation to obtain work permits and residency.
The exact number of foreigners living in Spain without documentation is unclear.
However, around 54,000 undocumented migrants reached Spain so far this year by sea or land, according to government figures.
Many arrive via the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago located off the coast of northwestern Africa.
However, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has often described his government’s migration policies as a way to combat the country’s low birthrate.
The government’s new policy simplifies the administrative processes for short and long-term visas and provides migrants with additional workplace protections.
It also extends a visa offered previously to job-seekers for three months to one year.
Many migrants make a living in Spain’s underground economy as fruit pickers, caretakers, delivery drivers, or other low-paid jobs.
Migration minister Ms Saiz said the government’s new policy would help prevent abuse and “serve to combat mafias, fraud and the violation of rights”.