Jörg Kukies, a close advisor to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, is the new German Finance Minister, a Berlin government source told Agence France Presse today.
Specialist in economic issues, Kukies, 56, assumes the Finance portfolio in a government in crisis, which no longer has a majority in the Berlin Parliament and in which only representatives of the Social Democratic (SPD) and Green parties remain.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Liberal Democratic Party after a series of meetings.
The three other ministers from the Liberal Democratic Party submitted their resignations late Wednesday night, triggering a crisis in the German ruling coalition.
Meanwhile, Volker Wissing, the Transport Minister withdrew his resignation and told journalists this morning in Berlin that, after speaking with Scholz, he had decided to continue as minister by leaving the party.
The other two FDP ministers who resigned could be replaced, the German news agency DPA indicated this morning.
Scholz announced on Wednesday that he will call for a vote of confidence on January 15, which could trigger early elections as early as March 2025.
Scholz accused Lindner of breaking trust and publicly calling for a different economic policy, including what the German chancellor said would be "tax cuts worth billions for some of the highest earners" and, at the same time, cutting pensions for all retirees.
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