BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in the German parliament on Monday, putting the European Union’s most populous member and biggest economy on course to hold an early election in late February.

Germany is expected to hold a snap election in February next year. Political turmoil at the heart of Europe is also taking place in France.

Polls suggest that a February election will result in a rightward shift, at a moment when Europe’s largest economy is faltering.