German Chancellor Olaf Scholz may hold a confidence vote on his leadership before Christmas, potentially leading to early elections.

Following the collapse of his coalition, Scholz had initially planned a vote in January, with elections in March.

However, pressure from politicians within his own coalition, including Green lawmakers Anton Hofreiter and Irene Mihalic, as well as opposition leader Friedrich Merz, has called for the vote to occur sooner.

Scholz, who denies “clinging to power,” is also facing a 17-point poll deficit to the CDU.

He remains confident his party has a “good chance” in a new election, Politico has reported.

Scholz also discussed his upcoming call with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and a recent social media comment from Elon Musk.

Written by B.C. Begley