German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder plans to hold a parliamentary confidence vote by the beginning of July, the chairman of his Social Democratic Party said Monday, a move that would mean new elections must be held by Sept. 18. Schroeder on Sunday called for early national elections after his party suffered a stinging defeat in a state vote in a traditional stronghold. Social Democratic chairman Franz Muentefering said he plans to hold a confidence vote in the lower house of parliament before the lower house of parliament breaks for its summer recess. Its last scheduled meeting is July 1. If parliament brings down the chancellor, President Horst Koehler has 21 days to dissolve parliament; after that, new elections must be held within 60 days. That means that elections must be held by Sept. 18, The Associated Press reported. A similar tactic was used by Schroeder's predecessor, Helmut Kohl, who forced elections in 1983 by calling a confidence vote in which his own supporters abstained.
