Germany's Scholz rules out vote of confidence in key interview

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 ever 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.