Germany’s governing coalition collapses after Scholz fires key minister

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gives a statement after a meeting with government leaders in Berlin, Germany (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Germany’s governing coalition has collapsed after Chancellor Olaf Scholz dramatically fired finance minister Christian Lindner in a late-night move after a marathon of crisis meetings.

The three remaining ministers of the Free Democrats also resigned soon afterwards, effectively leading to the government coalition’s collapse.