Germany on path for early election after Scholz requests confidence vote

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sent a request to parliament on Wednesday to hold a vote of confidence on Dec. 16, setting a path to an early federal election next year after the collapse of his coalition.

Policymaking in Europe's biggest economy has largely ground to a halt since Scholz's fractious coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) imploded last month, leaving him heading a minority government.

If, as expected, Scholz loses the confidence vote, he must then ask the president to dissolve parliament, which would trigger fresh elections. Scholz has agreed with the opposition to hold the election on Feb. 23.

"In a democracy, it is the voters who determine the course of future politics," Scholz said in a short statement to reporters.

"In the election, they will decide how we answer the big questions that lie before us. Let us have the confidence to invest vigorously in our future as a strong country."

Scholz urged lawmakers to work together in the remaining window before the elections to pass measures still on the agenda. That includes keeping a cap on electricity prices to help Germany's struggling industry, as well as tackling fiscal drag and raising child benefit.

"This is about a few but very important decisions that can't be delayed at all," Scholz said in Berlin shortly after he submitted a request to parliament to hold a vote of confidence.

Scholz cited recent meetings with representatives at Volkswagen and Ford, both of whom are planning sharp cost-cutting measures.

"Everyone is warning that electricity costs must not continue to rise," Scholz said.

Last week, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier lost a no-confidence vote, underscoring the unusual degree of political instability plaguing both of Europe's top powers.

Polls suggest the opposition conservatives are on track to win the federal election, with a survey on Monday putting them on 31%, followed by the far-right Alternative for Germany on 18%, Scholz's SPD on 17% and the Greens on 13%.

The FDP and the newly-created Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance are both polling just under the 5% threshold to enter parliament but analysts say voters can shift quickly as they are less loyal than they once were.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Matthias Williams, Kirsti Knolle; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Toby Chopra)