Germany's Scholz rules out vote of confidence

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has ruled out holding a vote of confidence in parliament ahead of elections next year.

In his annual summer interview with German public broadcaster ZDF, which will be broadcast on Sunday evening, Scholz said his coalition government continues to have a majority in the Bundestag, the country's lower house, and still has a job to do.

Scholz admitted that Germany's fractured political landscape could make governing the country even more difficult, at both the state and the federal level.

"I fear that whatever happens in the next few years, we will continue to have situations in Germany in which it is very complicated to form governments," the chancellor said.

Scholz defended his government's record in office, despite the three parties languishing in polls for next year's parliamentary elections and suffering historic setbacks in recent votes in two eastern states.

A key topic in the interview was the German government's support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, which is being increasingly questioned in eastern Germany.

"I believe that now is the time to discuss how we can bring about peace," Scholz said, arguing that the next peace conference should include Russia.

Scholz sidestepped a question on whether he still trusts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky despite revelations that a Ukrainian national is suspected of sabotaging Germany's Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

"I have a good relationship with Volodymyr Zelensky," said the chancellor. "At the same time, it is absolutely clear to me that this matter must be resolved," he added.

Scholz defends migration reforms

Scholz was also quizzed about Germany's immigration policies, which have returned to the forefront of political debates following a deadly attack in the western city of Solingen two weeks ago.

The chancellor's coalition government on Saturday introduced a package of measures to speed up deportations and toughen regulations on carrying knives, but opposition parties believe it does not go far enough and have threatened to pull out of a key round of talks on Tuesday.

"We already have rejections at the border, we already have border checks, and effective border management is something we would like to expand further," said Scholz.

He added: "There will be good proposals [...], all of which will be within the framework of European laws, international treaties and our Basic Law," referring to Germany's constitution.

Scholz further denied that the coalition had underestimated the issue of migration.

"I have brought about the biggest transformation in the way we have dealt with migration in the last 10 or 20 years," he argued.