With the breakup of Germany’s governing coalition early last month, proposed changes to the country’s development policy — including the drastic funding cuts that were expected to pass with the 2025 budget — are currently frozen. But the snap elections that are likely to be called for Feb. 23, 2025, could remake the government and have the potential to shift the country’s approach to development.
Germany’s ruling three-party coalition collapsed in early November when Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats, or SPD, fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats, or FDP, over economic and budget disagreements. The SPD and the Greens, the third member of the coalition, have continued to govern, but essentially as a caretaker administration until elections are held.
The breakup came as the German Parliament, known as the Bundestag, attempted to finalize a 2025 budget that worried the development sector. The draft proposal slashed the budget of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, or BMZ, by nearly €1 billion ($1.05 billion). It also cut €1.04 billion in humanitarian aid, which falls under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.