Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) has named Chancellor Olaf Scholz as its main candidate for the February election, presenting him as a safe name compared to the conservative opposition candidate, who has no government experience.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius ruled out his candidacy on Thursday, ending weeks of speculation over whether he should lead the SPD in the election instead of Scholz.
The party’s executive committee voted unanimously for Scholz as its candidate for chancellor, allowing him to run for a second term despite the collapse of his three-party coalition this month.
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In a speech after the official announcement, Scholz defined the main points of his electoral campaign: ensuring peace through cautious support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, revitalizing the economy and taming the cost of living crisis.
Scholz, Germany’s least popular chancellor since reunification in 1990, has an uphill battle to win the election, which takes place on February 23.
The SPD is currently in third place in opinion polls. A survey by the research institute Insa released on Saturday placed the party with 14%, behind the conservatives, with 32%, and the extreme right, with 19%.
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Scholz is also less popular than the conservative chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz, albeit by a much smaller margin, with a Wahlen poll putting him at 39% to Merz’s 44%.
Support for the chancellor and his party has declined in recent years amid infighting in the fragile tripartite coalition, which collapsed this month over differences over how to revive the economy.
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