After Struggling Against the Green Party, Germany's SPD Finally Nominates 'Centrist Prime Minister Candidate'

SPD nominates centrist Olaf Scholz as next Chancellor candidate
Breaks German fiscal rules with bold fiscal policy amid COVID-19 crisis
SPD falls to third largest party after CDU and Greens

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The German Social Democratic Party has nominated Finance Minister Olaf Scholz as its candidate for the next Chancellor. In the September general election next year, they plan to run a campaign by putting forward Scholz, who gained recognition for his bold fiscal policies during the response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and who has a centrist orientation.

On the 10th (local time), Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken, co-leaders of the Social Democratic Party, held a meeting and made this decision. Minister Scholz is a centrist figure who does not have the support of the left wing within the Social Democratic Party. They stated, "This decision may come as a surprise to some," but added, "The Social Democratic Party demanded trust in the path we are taking, and we decided to walk this path together."

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, nominated as the Social Democratic Party's candidate for Chancellor of Germany [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Minister Scholz was a figure who implemented bold fiscal policies during the COVID-19 response. Regarding this, the Social Democratic Party leadership evaluated, "These achievements were possible in the current government participating in the grand coalition." In fact, Minister Scholz contributed to shaking off the obsession with fiscal soundness, which had been accepted as an unwritten rule of the German government. He advocated for an active role of finance during the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, Minister Scholz is known to have made significant contributions to the process of raising the 750 billion euro (1,044 trillion won) economic recovery fund promoted at the European Union (EU) level.

However, the current situation of the Social Democratic Party, which has been one of the pillars of German politics, is tight. The Social Democratic Party ranks third in approval ratings, following the Christian Democratic Union and the Green Party.

The Social Democratic Party previously expressed willingness to form a coalition with the Left Party. They aim to unite the divided left-wing camp. Subsequently, the Social Democratic Party's insistence on Minister Scholz as the new Chancellor candidate is also seen as a desperate effort to raise the party's approval ratings. The Social Democratic Party has taken a desperate measure to embrace both the left and the center.

The Christian Democratic Union will decide on the leadership to lead the party following German Chancellor Angela Merkel around December this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.