Rising Support for Germany's SPD... Scholz, Finance Minister, Says "I Am the Next Chancellor"

Olaf Scholz, Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister of Germany. He is currently the Social Democratic Party's candidate for Chancellor.
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] With the German general election just over 40 days away, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) is showing an upward trend in support. Olaf Scholz, the SPD's chancellor candidate and Finance Minister, expressed confidence in winning the election, stating that he will become the next chancellor.

According to Bloomberg on the 11th (local time), Scholz said in an interview with Welt TV, "A favorable trend is unfolding for the SPD," adding, "We are gaining new momentum." He emphasized, "My personal approval rating is not only very good but improving, and the SPD's support is also rising."

According to a recent Forsa poll, the SPD's support increased by 3 percentage points from the previous survey to 19%. This is the highest party support for the SPD since 2018.

The ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) alliance maintained its lead but saw a 3 percentage point drop from the previous survey. The CDU/CSU alliance's party support stood at 23%, narrowing the gap with the SPD to 4 percentage points. The Green Party, which had caused a stir early in the election campaign, maintained its support at 20%, unchanged from the previous survey.

The SPD's party support had consistently ranked third behind the CDU/CSU alliance and the Green Party, but Scholz has maintained first place in chancellor candidate approval ratings.

In the latest Forsa poll, when asked who they support as the next chancellor, 26% of respondents chose Scholz. His support increased by 5 percentage points compared to the previous survey.

Green Party candidate Annalena Baerbock and CDU/CSU alliance candidate Armin Laschet saw their support drop by 2 and 3 percentage points, respectively. Baerbock recorded 16% support, while Laschet had 12%.

The current German government is a coalition between the CDU/CSU alliance and the SPD. Bloomberg explained that Scholz emerged as a chancellor candidate through his role as Finance Minister in responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

The German general election will be held on September 26.

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