The German conservative leader hoping to replace embattled Chancellor Olaf Scholz applied further pressure on Friday for early elections, as Europe’s biggest economy grappled with a major political crisis. Friedrich Merz, the leader of the opposition centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), accused Social Democrat Scholz of delaying tactics because Scholz had refused to speed up his planned timetable for fresh elections, following the collapse of his governing three-party coalition earlier this week. Following the sudden departure of the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) from his coalition, after Sc…