The German Defense Minister Boris Pistoriuswill not fight to become the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) for the Chancellery, despite the multiple currents that support him. With this he clears the way for the chancellor Olaf Scholz to seek his re-election. “I am not available for this position. That is my sovereign and personal decision,” said Pistorius, in a message released by the SPD and when the pressure on the party to make a candidacy official was beginning to be unsustainable.
“Olaf Scholz represents political wisdom in the face of populism, he is an excellent chancellor in those times marked by wars and crises,” Pistorius continues. The Defense Minister finally asks for a citizen vote to make a second term as chancellor possible for Scholz.
The option for Pistorius to be designated the SPD candidate for the early elections on February 23 gained strength these days, in light of his greater popularity and possibilities of obtaining better results at the polls. The party leadership has insisted that Scholz is its ‘natural candidate’ and the chancellor himself has also made clear his willingness to stand for re-election. But even so, pronouncements continued from various sectors of the German social democratic family in favor of Pistorius.
The dismal prospects in the polls maintained expectations surrounding Pistorius, among the highest-rated politicians in the country. The forecasts point to a clear victory for the conservative opposition bloc led by Friedrich Merz, which is predicted to have 33% of the votes. The second position is occupied by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), with 18%, three points above those estimated for the SPD.
The Greens, Scholz’s coalition partners, are predicted to have between 12% and 14%, although with a tendency to rise, while the Social Democrats have even been losing points.
The purpose of Pistorius’ message is, in his words, to put an end to the “uncertainty” created around this candidacy that, strictly speaking, the minister himself never formulated. This insecurity “has damaged the party” and what is necessary now is to “show cohesion” to enable “a second term as chancellor” for Scholz, Pistorius insists.
The SPD will hold the so-called “Winners’ Conference” on the 30th, aimed at supporting Scholz. The candidacy will be endorsed at the party congress on January 11.
Scholz’s government coalition collapsed on November 6 due to insurmountable differences with his until then liberal partners. Scholz is now still at the head of a minority government with the Greens and will submit to a vote of confidence on December 16, with the intention of losing it, to make it possible to call early elections on February 23.
