German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is happy that his wife Britta Ernst (both SPD) accompanied him on the day of the vote of confidence in the Bundestag. “That was very important to me. Britta Ernst is the most important person in my life” Scholz told the RTL/ntv editorial team on Monday evening.

Ernst and Scholz have been married since 1998. The SPD politician was most recently the Minister of Education in Brandenburg from 2017 to 2023 under Minister-President Dietmar Woidke (SPD). Ernst resigned in April 2023 after being increasingly criticized in the debate on the teacher shortage in the federal state.