German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has acknowledged that he has weighed the option of forgoing a second bid as SPD’s chancellor candidate. “Despite all the achievements of the coalition, the image of the government was marked by strife and discord,” he said to the Funke Media Group newspapers. “So, of course, I have carefully considered whether it is right to run again.”
The decision to run a second time was made in conjunction with SPD chairpersons Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil, faction leader Rolf Mützenich, and with the support of Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Scholz said. It was primarily members of the North Rhine-Westphalia SPD state association who had advocated for Pistorius as a chancellor candidate.
Furthermore, Scholz is convinced of winning the federal election. The forecasts had even grossly failed before the previous federal election, he said. “I am entirely confident that the SPD can end up in the lead again, and I can regain the mandate to lead the government once more,” he said.
He does not yet grieve the collapsed traffic light coalition, the Chancellor said. “All the reports now emerging about the plans the FDP had to dismantle the coalition confirm my feeling: it was right to dismiss the Federal Minister of Finance, Lindner,” he said.