German election: Scholz loses confidence vote

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz loses confidence vote in Bundestag
• The vote paves the way for snap elections on February 23
• Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) are trailing behind Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the polls

What happens next?

Now is the time for campaign season to kick off.

President Steinmeier is set to formally announce the dissolution of the Bundestag in the coming days.