German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of no confidence Monday, paving the way for early elections in February and ending a turbulent year at the polls for several of Europe’s leaders and governing parties.

Scholz called Monday’s vote with the expectation of losing it, but with the hope that it would boost the fortunes of his center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP). He needed a 367 majority vote to win, but only 207 members of the Bundestag, or parliament, were willing to back him. A…