Germany's conservative opposition *has heaped pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz's crisis-hit government to allow for speedy elections* by calling a confidence vote next week rather than next year. 🇩🇪 Speaking after a meeting of his parliamentary group, Christian Democrats (CDU) chairman *Friedrich Merz said Scholz's three-party coalition with the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP) had _"failed"_*. After months of bitter infighting, *Scholz's fractious three-way coalition finally broke apart on Wednesday* night after the chancellor sacked his rebellious finance minister Christian Lindner from the FDP. The shock move *leaves the chancellor's Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens ruling in a precarious minority government* at a time when Germany is facing multiple domestic and international crises.