Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz Dismisses Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner

How the Dismissal of a Federal Minister Is Possible

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have just requested the Federal President to dismiss the Federal Minister of Finance.” Olaf Scholz, November 6, 2024

The traffic light coalition has apparently failed after less than three years in government.

On November 6, 2024, the leaders of the SPD, Greens, and FDP initially held extensive consultations to find ways out of the coalition crisis and solutions to rescue the country’s economic situation.

In the evening, the SPD then convened its parliamentary group for a meeting after Federal Minister of Finance Lindner had proposed new elections for the Bundestag to the Federal Chancellor.

As the negative climax of months of disputes between the SPD, Greens, and FDP, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided to request Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dismiss Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner—too often had necessary compromises been drowned out by publicly staged disputes and loud ideological demands, too often had Federal Minister Lindner blocked legislation on irrelevant grounds, according to Scholz in his speech on the evening of November 6.

The FDP announced that same evening that it would withdraw all its ministers, namely Christian Lindner (Minister of Finance), Marco Buschmann (Minister of Justice), Volker Wissing (Minister of Transport), and Bettina Stark-Watzinger (Minister of Education), from the federal government. This ends the FDP’s participation in the three-party traffic light coalition.

On November 7, Federal President Steinmeier, in accordance with Article 64, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law , handed the dismissal certificates to Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner, Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann, and Federal Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger upon the Chancellor’s proposal. He subsequently appointed Jörg Kukies as the new Federal Minister of Finance and Volker Wissing, who had announced his resignation from the FDP that same day, as Federal Minister of Justice.

Can the Federal Chancellor Simply Dismiss a Federal Minister?

The dismissal of federal ministers, like their appointment, is regulated in the Basic Law and the Federal Ministers Act.

Article 64, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law states: “The Federal Ministers shall be appointed and dismissed by the Federal President upon the proposal of the Federal Chancellor.”

Section 9 of the Federal Ministers Act provides: “The official relationship of individual Federal Ministers also ends with their dismissal. Federal Ministers may be dismissed at any time and may request their dismissal at any time .”

Thus, the decision regarding the appointment and dismissal of individual federal ministers generally falls within the personnel authority of the Federal Chancellor. The dismissal of a federal minister therefore generally occurs at the initiative of the Federal Chancellor.

Article 64, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law is closely connected to Article 65 of the Basic Law and the Chancellor’s authority to determine policy guidelines enshrined therein, which presupposes that the Chancellor can appoint to his cabinet only those persons who possess his unreserved political confidence. This includes the right to dismiss persons from the cabinet who have lost his political confidence.

Formally, no distinction is made between a voluntary resignation of a minister and a dismissal. For a resignation, ministers may only request their dismissal. For example, Franz Müntefering (SPD) declared his resignation in 2007 and requested his dismissal.

Could Federal President Steinmeier Have Refused the Dismissal?

The Federal President is generally legally obligated to appoint the persons proposed by the Federal Chancellor as ministers (provided the legal requirements for appointment are met) or to dismiss them.

A right of participation by the Federal President would be incompatible with the position of the Federal President in political and substantive terms. The political powers of the Federal President are very limited under the Basic Law; he has opportunities for political influence only in exceptional cases according to the clear wording of the Constitution.

The Federal President is also otherwise bound by Article 58 of the Basic Law to the political views of the federal government in politically relevant actions, so it would generally be contradictory if he could exert influence on the appointment and dismissal of ministers.

Furthermore, the Federal President is not subject to parliamentary control, is not elected by the people, and cannot be recalled. If he had political authority in ministerial appointments or dismissals, the representative-democratic parliamentary system would be significantly impaired.

Vote of Confidence – When Must New Elections Take Place?

Olaf Scholz has announced his intention to call a vote of confidence on January 15, 2025, and aims for new elections by the end of March 2025. There is currently discussion as to whether the vote of confidence should be called immediately.

Opposition leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Minister-President of Bavaria Markus Söder (CSU) are urging that the vote of confidence be called as soon as possible.

According to Article 68, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law , the Federal Chancellor has the right to call a vote of confidence in the Bundestag to have its support confirmed. The so-called vote of confidence is particularly relevant when the Federal Chancellor no longer has the necessary confidence of parliament, for example due to changes in majority relations following a coalition breakdown.

For the vote of confidence to be answered positively, an absolute majority of the members of the Bundestag is required. If the vote of confidence is not successfully answered, the Federal President has two options: he may dissolve the Bundestag within 21 days upon the proposal of the Federal Chancellor (Article 68, Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 of the Basic Law) or leave the government in office, possibly as a minority government. In the latter case, the Federal President may declare a legislative state of emergency pursuant to Article 81 of the Basic Law upon the proposal of the federal government, whereby the government may pass legislation for six months even against the will of the Bundestag, but with the consent of the Bundesrat. The Federal President’s right to dissolve expires if the Bundestag elects a new Federal Chancellor with an absolute majority (Article 68, Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 of the Basic Law).

The dissolution-oriented vote of confidence represents a special form of the vote of confidence and serves the purpose of new elections. The question is whether the Chancellor, who still has a majority behind him, deliberately calls a vote of confidence that is rejected or in which members abstain in order to enable new elections. The Federal Constitutional Court permits this on the condition that the political majority relations in the Bundestag impair the Chancellor’s ability to act to such an extent that meaningful government work is no longer possible. In such cases, the vote of confidence must be an expression of an unstable political situation between the Bundestag, Bundesrat, and federal government. However, the Federal Constitutional Court reviews these substantive requirements only to a limited extent and grants the Federal Chancellor discretion in assessing the political situation by conducting only an obvious abuse control (evidence control).

Does the Former Federal Minister of Finance Still Have a Claim to His Ministerial Salary?

After just one day in office, federal ministers are entitled to a so-called transitional allowance of €81,000, which is paid out in monthly installments—even in the case of dismissal, as with Lindner. The amount of this transitional allowance can increase to nearly €243,000 depending on the length of service, although Lindner had a comparatively short tenure. In the first months after leaving office, the payment corresponds to the full official salary, but later reduces to half.

From the second month onward, the transitional allowance is offset against private income. This also applies to Lindner, as he continues to receive allowances as a member of the Bundestag, which reduces the payment to him. The purpose of the transitional allowance is to provide former ministers with financial stability and facilitate their transition to employment outside their political career.

The so-called pension is a monthly retirement benefit that begins at €4,600. For each year as a member of the government, €430 per month is added, with a maximum of €12,100 attainable. However, Christian Lindner has no claim to a pension, as a federal minister must have served at least four years in office to receive this benefit. Lindner served just under three years, having assumed his duties as Minister of Finance on December 8, 2021.