Ideas have already circulated in the ranks of the German Social Democrats (SPD) to nominate Boris Pistorius as a candidate for the position of chancellor instead of Olaf Scholz in the early parliamentary elections. However, the popular Defense Minister stated that he would not be the party’s candidate for chancellor.
On Thursday night, Pistorius told party colleagues that a public debate on the chancellor candidate would be detrimental to the party and told party leaders that he was not interested in the job, the Financial Times reported.
“Olaf Scholz is a strong chancellor and the right candidate for the position of chancellor. We now have a shared responsibility to end this debate. Because there is a lot at stake.” – said Pistorius.
It was previously assumed that since Scholz is the current chancellor, he would automatically become a candidate for the position of chancellor. However, many polls show that Pistorius is currently one of the most popular politicians in the country. At the same time, the SPD’s ratings are at an all-time low and Scholz is under intense pressure.
In this context, some party members considered that the candidate for the position of chancellor should be replaced. However, the party leadership remained on Scholz’s side and some members of the SPD began to criticize Pistorius, since the latter did not immediately declare that he did not want to be a candidate for the position of chancellor.
At the same time, Pistorius’ “resignation” means that Scholz will have to face the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Friedrich Merz. Scholz faces a difficult task, as the opposition CDU is by far the most popular party in the country. The CDU’s support is around 32%, while that of the SPD is only 15%.
The 64-year-old defense minister, who is passionate about football, quickly became popular in his country thanks to his good communication skills. Therefore, some of his supporters were also disappointed that Pistorius would not be the SPD’s candidate for chancellor in the upcoming elections.
“I regret this development. “Now the goal should be cooperation and achieving the best possible result in the elections.” – saying Joe Weingartenmember of the SPD parliamentary group.
