The exceptionally short duration of the campaign opening for the legislative elections of February 23, 2025 in Germany requires quick clarification. Therefore, it was the Minister of Defense himself, Boris Pistorius, who took the initiative and announced on Thursday, November 21, that he would not participate in the race for the chancellorship of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). His initiative leaves the field open to the outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz, already a candidate for his own succession, but very unpopular.
“I am not available to run as a candidate for the position of Federal Chancellor, Boris Pistorius, 64, said in a short video released Thursday night. This is my sovereign and personal decision. » In his opinion, Olaf Scholz, that “ “It embodies reason and balance.”This “ “He is a strong chancellor and is the right candidate for chancellor.” He later clarified in an interview with the ZDF channel that he had not been pressured to retire.
In recent days, increasingly urgent voices have been heard in the SPD in favor of a candidacy of Boris Pistorius, more popular among public opinion than the outgoing chancellor, who suffers from the repeated dysfunctions of his coalition, in power since 2021. The Social Democratic Party, like the former vice-chancellors and presidents of the SPD, Sigmar Gabriel or Franz Müntefering, had advocated a more open race from here on. in the congress on January 11, which must formally designate the party’s candidate, to try to stop its collapse in the polls. In fact, they currently show a clear advantage for the conservatives of the CDU and its candidate Friedrich Merz, who gather more than 30% of voting intentions, that is, double that of the SPD, while the far-right party AFD is close to 20%. .
“Surveys are not always right”
But while Boris Pistorius weakly denied having the ambition to run for office, Olaf Scholz, for his part, seemed to rule out any withdrawal scenario, convinced that he could still thwart the predictions. “The American elections have just shown that polls are not always right, just like the last federal elections”he said during a television interview on the ARD channel on November 10.
In particular, the two men take different stances on the Ukraine issue. Boris Pistorius, a supporter of arms deliveries, said he wanted to rebuild Germany “fit for war”while Olaf Scholz assumes more and more explicitly his preference for a diplomatic solution. His controversial call to Vladimir Putin on November 15 was also considered disappointing by the Defense Minister. “ “I think it wasn’t as effective as we all expected,” He commented on it afterwards.
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