In Germany, Olaf Scholz launches the battle for a second term

Photo: Odd Andersen Agence France-Presse Olaf Scholz had to face a revolt within his party.

Isabelle Le Page – Agence France-Presse in Berlin

Posted at 12:56 p.m.

• Europe

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was sworn in as leader of his center-left party in the February elections, officially launched an election campaign on Monday that promises to be perilous, given his unpopularity.

“We want to come out on top, to be the first party” in the legislative elections on February 23, the imperturbable 66-year-old leader declared at a press conference.

The leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) earlier designated him “unanimously” as its candidate, sticking together despite recent internal dissensions and polls that show him as a clear loser.

Delegates will still have to validate his candidacy at a congress on January 11.

Olaf Scholz, who had more or less declared himself a candidate after his coalition with the Greens and Liberals broke up on November 6, had to face a revolt within his party, where some had spoken out in favor of the very popular Minister of Defense, Boris Pistorius.

The latter had finally ruled out running for the investiture.

The The task looks daunting for Germany's oldest party, which only has around 15% of the vote.

The conservative opposition CDU/CSU has more than double that (33%), and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is ahead with 18%.

Olaf Scholz, the “face” of the failure of a government marked by perpetual internal disputes, is “probably the weakest, least suitable candidate for chancellor that the SPD has ever presented”, the magazine Der Spiegel.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

Ukraine, economy, pensions

His coalition, in power since the end of 2021, fell apart after the dismissal of the liberal finance minister due to insurmountable differences over budgetary policy.

“Making decisions [as a three-party government] had become increasingly complicated in these difficult times, and that is why it was right to end this government”, estimated Mr. Scholz.

The campaign will be placed under the banner of support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion and the modernization of a German economy, he said, while the first European economy is shaken by an industrial crisis which brings almost daily its share of social plans.

The chancellor also says he wants to fight to guarantee pensions, a crucial subject in an aging Germany.

In order to meet all these challenges, his party will support an “easing of the debt brake”, this mechanism which limits new borrowing by the State, at the heart of the dissensions within his coalition.

Concerning Ukraine, he reaffirmed his decision not to supply Taurus missiles which could strike deep into Russian territory, thus deviating from the position taken by his main allies, United States, France and Great Britain.

Olaf Scholz has been presenting himself for several weeks now as the man of restraint in military support for kyiv, in the hope of taking advantage of the pacifism deeply rooted among Germans since the Nazi horrors and a significant pro-Russian current of opinion.

Experience

The conservatives have not hidden the fact that they view the Chancellor's candidacy with a certain relief. “Pistorius would have been more unpleasant for the CDU and the CSU,” stressed MP Mathias Middelberg.

But Olaf Scholz, a veteran politician who was notably mayor of Hamburg (north) and vice-chancellor with the finance portfolio in Angela Merkel's last government (2005-2021), has shown several times his ability to thwart predictions.

He readily recalls how, in 2021, he won the elections against all odds.

Although he had then benefited greatly from the divisions in the conservative camp, he had also skillfully presented himself as the true heir to the conservative chancellor, at the time at the height of her popularity.

This time, he also intends to reassure with his experience in a turbulent global geopolitical context plunged into the unknown by the election of Donald Trump to the White House.

Facing him, the conservative competitor Friedrich Merz has little to present, SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil mocked on Monday.

Friedrich Merz “has never been mayor, has never been part of a regional government, has never been part of a federal government, has never assumed responsibility for this country,” he listed.

Also read

• In Germany, the way is clear for Scholz in his party before the elections
• Germany on the road to elections in February and a probable alternation
• The Scholz government breaks up, Germany towards early elections