BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Wednesday he was firing Finance Minister Christian Lindner, which could undermine the ruling three-party coalition that relies on Lindner’s pro-business party.

Scholz announced the move at a news conference following weeks of disputes among the coalition partners over ways to boost the country’s ailing economy. He also said he would seek a vote of confidence in January.

“I feel compelled to take this step to prevent damage to our country. We need an effective government that has the strength to make the necessary decisions for our country,” Scholz said.

Lindner, from the pro-business Free Democrats, had rejected tax increases or changes to Germany’s strict self-imposed limits on running up debt. Scholz’s Social Democrats and the environmental Greens, who are also part of the coalition, want to see massive state investment and rejected the Free Democrats’ proposals to cut welfare programs.

It was not immediately clear if the Free Democrats would leave the government coalition in reaction. Meetings among the three party coalition earlier Wednesday were seen as a last-ditch attempt to patch up the partnership.

Scholz said about Lindner that “he has broken my trust too often. He even unilaterally canceled the agreement on the budget. After we had already agreed on it in long negotiations. There is no basis of trust for further cooperation. Serious government work is not possible like this.”

Germany’s economy is expected to shrink in 2024 for the second year in a row, or at best stagnate, battered by external shocks and home-grown problems including red tape and a shortage of skilled labor.

Kirsten Grieshaber, The Associated Press