Germany’s biggest political parties have reportedly agreed on a timetable leading to an early general election on Feb 23.

The agreement was reached with Germany in a deep political crisis, between the parliamentary groups of Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) and the main conservative opposition CDU/CSU.

A source in the chancellor’s party confirmed the probable date of the election to the AFP agency.

The compromise deal comes days after Mr Scholz’s three-way coalition collapsed with the withdrawal of the smallest party, the liberal and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP).

The political turmoil has hit as Europe’s biggest economy is set to shrink for a second year in a row, and amid heightened geopolitical volatility, with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The agreed election date would mean Germany will be in the middle of campaigning when Donald Trump is inaugurated as the US president on Jan 20.