BERLIN — President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday (Dec 27) dissolved Germany's lower house of parliament to pave the way for snap elections on Feb 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition.

"Especially in difficult times, like now, stability requires a government capable of acting, and reliable majorities in parliament," which was why early elections were the right way forward for Germany, Steinmeier said in Berlin.

After the elections, problem-solving must become the core business of politics again, added Steinmeier in a speech.

The president, whose post has been largely ceremonial in the post-war era, also called for the election campaign to be conducted fairly and transparently.

"External influence is a danger to democracy, whether it is covert, as was evidently the case recently in the Romanian elections, or open and blatant, as is currently being practiced particularly intensively on [social media] platform X," he said.

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