German opposition leader says policy must wait until after confidence vote

Germany's conservative opposition leader and possible next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said further discussions on policy must wait until after a confidence vote is held on Dec. 16, following the collapse of incumbent Olaf Scholz's coalition.

"We have no confidence in this coalition or what is left of it," Merz of the centre-right CDU said on Friday. "The confidence question will be asked first and then answered - and then we can talk about joint decisions."

Germany's 2025 budget has been delayed by the political crisis, which peaked when Scholz fired his finance minister last week, setting the stage for snap elections, now set for Feb. 23.