Wolfgang Schmidt, a senior official in the German Chancellor’s office and a close confidant of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, has not ruled out a political future beyond his current role.
In an interview with RTL and ntv, Schmidt emphasized that, despite their close collaboration, he and Scholz are not interchangeable. Schmidt has worked with the Chancellor because he believes Scholz is a skilled politician who benefits the country. “However, in politics, we all have fixed-term contracts for four years in the Bund and it’s natural for each election to involve the possibility of term endings” Schmidt explained.
Schmidt acknowledged that Scholz has not always pursued the course he thought was right. “Of course, we always have different opinions” Schmidt said, adding that this is a characteristic of good politicians, who can tolerate and respect diverse viewpoints.