Elections in Germany

Scholz unanimously nominated as candidate for chancellor

Germany's Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD)

(Bild: AFP)

On Monday, the SPD executive unanimously nominated Olaf Scholz as Germany's candidate for chancellor in the early elections. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius demonstratively stands next to Scholz in the front row at the Willy Brandt House. The decision is to be confirmed at a party conference on January 11. 

The nomination was preceded by controversial debates. Over the past two weeks, the party had publicly debated whether the much more popular Defense Minister Boris Pistorius should be put forward as a replacement candidate for Scholz, who had suffered after the failure of his coalition government.

Pistorius renounces candidacy
It was only last Thursday that Pistorius renounced his candidacy, paving the way for Scholz's nomination. In the SPD, however, the hang-up over the K-issue is still having an effect. At the national congress of the Young Socialists (Juso), the SPD's youth organization, there was sharp criticism of the party leadership over the weekend. Juso leader Philipp Türmer accused party leaders Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil of leadership failure and spoke of a "shit show".

Esken then conceded: "No, we didn't really present a good picture when nominating our candidate for chancellor." Klingbeil, on the other hand, defended the party leadership's approach. "My claim to leadership is that you listen to the party, that you hold debates, that you think in different scenarios," he said on Deutschlandfunk radio.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, considered by some SPD members to be a better candidate for chancellor, stood demonstratively next to Scholz in the front row of the Willy Brandt House.

(Bild: AFP/John MACDOUGALL)

At the same time, Klingbeil called on the party to look ahead to the election on February 23. "Now it is everyone's duty to flip the switch and make sure we start the election campaign." Esken said on ZDF with a view to Scholz: "We are now going into this fight together with him."

Official confirmation at the SPD party conference
Following the nomination, Scholz's candidacy for chancellor still has to be confirmed at the party conference on January 11. This is considered a formality. However, Scholz will have to be measured against his result from May 2021 - a good four months before the general election. Back then, Scholz was confirmed with 96.2 percent of the vote.

Now it is everyone's duty to flip the switch and make sure we start the election campaign.

Lars Klingbeil, SPD-Parteivorsitzender

At that time, the SPD was polling between 14 and 16 percent, as it is today. It wasn't until the Union's candidate for chancellor, Armin Laschet, had a laugh in the flood zone that things turned around in the summer: The SPD became the strongest force with 25.7 percent.

SPD wants duel between Scholz and Merz
The SPD is also hoping that its challenger will make mistakes this time. The party wants to focus the election campaign on a duel between Scholz and the Union's candidate for chancellor, Friedrich Merz. The Social Democrats accuse Merz of backward-looking policies and want to score points above all with Scholz's experience in government and ability to deal with issues.

In terms of popularity ratings, however, the Chancellor continues to fare worse than Merz in the polls. In the current ZDF Politbarometer, he is in 7th place and Merz in 5th place. Pistorius is the undisputed number 1. However, the data was collected before the SPD's decision on the K question last Thursday.

Four candidates for chancellor for the first time
At the same time, the SPD is hoping that Scholz will present himself differently in the election campaign as a head of government with an eye for balance. Alexander Schweitzer (SPD), Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate, said on the ARD program "Bericht aus Berlin" that the party now needs a combative and fighting Scholz. "The time of moderation in a difficult traffic light coalition is now over. Now we need a strong Olaf Scholz who also shows where he wants to take the country," emphasized Schweitzer.

Scholz is the third candidate for chancellor put forward by his party for the election on February 23 after Merz and the Greens' Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck. On December 7, the AfD executive will then nominate party leader Alice Weidel as candidate for chancellor. For the first time, there will be four candidates for chancellor in a Bundestag election.