German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under increasing pressure from rival parties to accelerate plans for a general election, with conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz calling for a crucial vote to set the process going as early as Wednesday.

Opposition parties and businesses in Germany have called for new elections to be held as soon as possible after the three-way coalition government collapsed, plunging the country into political turmoil. They are urging an immediate vote of confidence in chancellor Olaf Scholz ’s coalition “by the beginning of next week at the latest”.