Expert Available: German Chancellor Clears the Way for Snap Election with No Confidence Vote

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz asked the country’s parliament today to declare it has no confidence in him, taking the first formal step towards securing an early national election following his government’s collapse, Reuters reports. Scholz remains as caretaker leader until a new government can be formed after the planned Feb. 23 election.

If you would like more context on this matter, please consider Hope Harrison, professor of history and international affairs at the George Washington University. She is an expert on Germany, Russia, the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, and the politics and culture of memory. She is the author of After the Berlin Wall: Memory and the Making of the New Germany, 1989 to the Present and the prize-winning, Driving the Soviets up the Wall: Soviet-East German Relations, 1953-1961, which was published to wide acclaim in German translation. Additionally, Harrison is the recipient of fellowships from Fulbright, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the American Academy in Berlin, Harvard, and the Wilson Center.

To speak with Prof. Harrison, please contact GW Senior Media Relations Specialist Cate Douglass Restuccio at [email protected].

-GW-