Germany's Scholz loses a confidence vote, setting up an early election in February

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

Scholz won the support of 207 lawmakers in the 733-seat lower house, or Bundestag, while 394 voted against him and 116 abstained. That left him far short of the majority of 367 needed to win.

Scholz leads a minority government after his unpopular and notoriously rancorous three-party coalition collapsed on Nov. 6 when he fired his finance minister in a dispute over how to revitalize Germany’s stagnant economy. Leaders of several major parties then agreed that a parliamentary election should be held on Feb. 23, seven months earlier than originally planned.

The confidence vote was needed because post-World War II Germany’s constitution doesn’t allow the Bundestag to dissolve itself. Now President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has to decide whether to dissolve parliament and call an election.

Steinmeier has 21 days to make that decision — and, because of the planned timing of the election, is expected to do so after Christmas. Once parliament is dissolved, the election must be held within 60 days.

In practice, the campaign is already well underway, and Monday’s three-hour debate reflected that.

Scholz, a center-left Social Democrat, told lawmakers that the election will determine whether “we, as a strong country, dare to invest strongly in our future; do we have confidence in ourselves and our country, or do we put our future on the line? Do we risk our cohesion and our prosperity by delaying long-overdue investments?”

Scholz’s pitch to voters includes pledges to “modernize” Germany’s strict self-imposed rules on running up debt, to increase the national minimum wage and to reduce value-added tax on food.

Center-right challenger Friedrich Merz responded that “you’re leaving the country in one of its biggest economic crises in postwar history.”

“You’re standing here and saying, business as usual, let’s run up debt at the expense of the younger generation, let’s spend money and ... the word ‘competitiveness’ of the German economy didn’t come up once in the speech you gave today,” Merz said.

The chancellor said Germany is Ukraine’s biggest military supplier in Europe and he wants to keep that up, but underlined his insistence that he won’t supply long-range Taurus cruise missiles, over concerns of escalating the war with Russia, or send German troops into the conflict. “We will do nothing that jeopardizes our own security,” he said.

Merz, who has been open to sending the long-range missiles, said that “we don’t need any lectures on war and peace” from Scholz’s party. He said, however, that the political rivals in Berlin are united in an “absolute will to do everything so that this war in Ukraine ends as quickly as possible.”

Polls show Scholz’s party trailing well behind Merz’s main opposition Union bloc, which is in the lead. Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck of the environmentalist Greens, the remaining partner in Scholz’s government, is also bidding for the top job — though his party is further back.

The far-right Alternative for Germany, which is polling strongly, has nominated Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor but has no chance of taking the job because other parties refuse to work with it.

Germany’s electoral system traditionally produces coalitions, and polls show no party anywhere near an absolute majority on its own. The election is expected to be followed by weeks of negotiations to form a new government.

Confidence votes are rare in Germany, a country of 83 million people that prizes stability. This was only the sixth time in its postwar history that a chancellor had called one.

The last was in 2005, when then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder engineered an early election that was narrowly won by center-right challenger Angela Merkel.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz,, bottom right, attends a plenary session at the German parliament Bundestag where he faces a vote of confidence, Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during a plenary session at the German parliament Bundestag where he faces a vote of confidence, Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, centre arrives for a plenary session at the German parliament Bundestag where he faces a vote of confidence, Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during a plenary session at the German parliament Bundestag where he faces a vote of confidence, Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Opposition leader Friedrich Merz of CDU speaks during a plenary session at the German parliament Bundestag where he faces a vote of confidence, Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during a plenary session at the German parliament Bundestag where he faces a vote of confidence, Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck speaks during a plenary session at the German parliament Bundestag where he faces a vote of confidence, Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Opposition leader Friedrich Merz of CDU speaks during a plenary session at the German parliament Bundestag where he faces a vote of confidence, Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz leaves after his speech during a plenary session at the German parliament Bundestag where he faces a vote of confidence, Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during a plenary session at the German parliament Bundestag where he faces a vote of confidence, Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz leaves after a statement after formally asking for a vote of confidence in parliament, to set the path for an early election in spring 2025, at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, speaks with Vice Chancellor and Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck, left, during the cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz makes a statement after formally asking for a vote of confidence in parliament, to set the path for an early election in spring 2025, at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

KOHALA, Hawai‘i--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 15, 2026--

Kuleana Rum Works, the Hawai‘i-based distillery known for its additive-free, award-winning rums, today announced the release of “An Open Letter on Additive-Free Rum,” written by Founder & CEO Steve Jefferson, addressing why rum is now facing the same scrutiny and market shift that reshaped tequila a decade ago.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260107792953/en/

Consumers across spirits are demanding more honesty about how products are made. Additive-free labeling has already transformed tequila and is reshaping whiskey and RTDs. Drinkers now expect producers to protect natural flavor instead of masking it, and bartenders increasingly use transparency as a measure of quality. The letter positions rum as the next category entering this accountability cycle, as more consumers begin to question undisclosed sweeteners, flavorings and added color.

Tequila provides the clearest precedent. Producers who embraced additive-free methods helped premiumize the category, while brands relying on undisclosed additives now face growing skepticism. According to the letter, rum is approaching the same turning point. Jefferson explains that Kuleana Rum Works was founded on additive-free principles: growing heirloom Hawaiian kō (sugarcane), fermenting and distilling fresh juice at lower proof to preserve natural character, adding nothing after distillation and holding all blending partners to the same standards. Every rum — whether distilled in Hawai‘i or sourced — is verified additive-free through independent lab testing and supplier documentation.

“Consumer expectations are changing fast across spirits,” said Steve Jefferson, Founder and CEO of Kuleana Rum Works. “People want honesty in what they drink, and they’re rewarding producers who protect natural flavor rather than covering it up. Additive-free isn’t a trend — it’s becoming the standard, and rum is now facing that shift head-on.”

Additional detail in the letter underscores how production choices such as fresh juice fermentation, low-proof distillation and a strict no-additives policy create transparency and flavor integrity that align with what the market is valuing.

About Kuleana Rum Works

Founded on the island of Hawai‘i in 2013, Kuleana Rum Works crafts award-winning, additive-free rums — led by its signature Hawaiian Rum Agricole® — from fresh kō (heirloom Hawaiian sugarcane) grown on its regenerative Kohala farm. Now available in 17 states and Japan, Kuleana Rum Works champions excellence, transparency and community stewardship. Visit kuleanarum.com to learn more.

https://kuleanarum.com/additive-free/