German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will run for a second term in federal elections. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) will nominate him as the main candidate.
This was stated by party co-leader Lars Klingbeil, Deutsche Welle reports.
"We want to go to the next election campaign with Olaf Scholz," he said.
The announcement came after German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on the evening of November 21 that he would not be a candidate for the post of federal chancellor and had unfinished business in place. At the same time, Pistorius called Scholz an outstanding chancellor.
Politicians from the Social Democratic Party of Germany saw a new chancellor candidate in Pistorius and put pressure on Olaf Scholz not to run for office again, so that their political force would not lose in early elections.
The latest polls show the center-left Social Democratic Party gaining just 14-16%, trailing the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and their chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz (32-24%), and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) with their 18-19%.
Scholz questioned the reliability of the polls, recalling that the SPD was also far behind the CDU two and a half months before the 2021 elections.
Collapse of the coalition in Germany
On November 6, Olaf Scholz dismissed Finance Minister Christian Lindner, accusing him of irresponsibility, selfishness and acting in favor of only his Free Democratic Party, which was one of three in the governmentʼs governing coalition. Lindner said that the Free Democrats are leaving the coalition and taking all their ministers.
Scholz made the decision due to differences with Lindner in budgetary, financial and economic policy. German media reported that the tripartite coalition could not decide what to do with the 2025 budget.
The collapse of the coalition in Germany can destabilize the political situation. The crisis may also strengthen opposition parties, including the pro-Russian Alternative for Germany. AdN has an anti-migrant rhetoric, advocates the preservation of "traditional values", and also criticizes the EU and aid to Ukraine.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier agreed with the parliamentʼs proposal to hold early elections to the Bundestag on February 23, 2025. The Bundestag will work as usual until December 16, 2024, when the deputies will vote for the confidence of the government.
If the result of this vote is negative, it will provide grounds to dissolve the parliament. By law, the German president has 21 days after the vote to do so. If the Bundestag is dissolved, new deputies must be elected no later than 60 days later.
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