After the German parties presented a coalition agreement that formally ended the Merkel era in the country, center-left politician Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) will become the new chancellor.
At the same time, the current Chancellor Angela Merkel is leaving the post after 16 years. Germany’s current finance minister will take over as chancellor next month.
According to the agreement announced in Berlin this Wednesday (24), the SPD will lead a coalition formed by the Greens and the Liberal Democratic Party, the FDP.
In political life, Scholz positions himself as a pragmatist of dialogue – his political style is no different from that of Merkel. They can be considered in many ways similar, despite the fact that they belong to competing parties, experts analyze.
“He looks calm, measured, level-headed,” said Corinna Hirst, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund (GMF) in Brussels.
Scholz and Gerhard Schroeder, German Chancellor from 1998 to 2005, belong to the same party. Political pragmatism can be similarities between the two governments. As Chancellor, Schroeder presented the so-called “Agenda 2010” – a series of reforms that were seen as an important step for the German business environment.
Scholz said Wednesday that the German government wants to help build a “strong and sovereign” Europe. Among his government’s negotiations is a move towards a cleaner energy matrix. The coalition parties have agreed to phase out coal by 2030 and to end gas-fired electricity production by 2040.
Who is Olaf Scholz in politics
In a conversation with reporters, Scholz spoke about some of the priorities of his coalition government. “We want to be bold when it comes to climate and industry,” he said.
With a moderate profile, Scholz can be considered an outsider within his party – there is still no indication of which names will be closest to him during his reign.
“The SPD leadership is mostly left-wing and did not initially support it. So we still don’t know who he is going to rally around him and who will influence his leadership style, ”says Hirst.
Another characteristic that brings Scholz and Merkel closer together is their preference for centrism. “She always ran from the center, and I think he will try to do that too, but that will of course also depend on the demands of the coalition parties,” said Sudha David-Wilp, deputy director of the Berlin office of GMF. CNN…
At 63, Scholz is a lifelong SPD member and was born in former West Germany – Merkel was born in East Germany. During the first coalition government, Merkel Scholz served as Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.
Olaf Scholz and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin / Reuters
In 2011, he was elected Mayor of Hamburg, a position he held with high ratings until 2018. After leaving the city’s mayor, Scholz has become Germany’s deputy chancellor and Merkel’s right-hand man over the past few years, as well as in the fight against the pandemic.
It was Scholz who oversaw financial compensation programs in Germany for businesses, employees and those who lost income due to the fact that they had to be quarantined.
But the man who will succeed Merkel has also had his share of political problems throughout his career – and his name is not as popular abroad as the chancellor. As mayor of Hamburg, he was criticized for failing to deal with the violent protests that took place during the G20 meeting in his city in 2017.
Hundreds of police officers were injured in clashes with protesters in Hamburg. At the time, Scholz downplayed the potential risk of demonstrations and was therefore accused of the city’s unpreparedness.
With the signing of the coalition on Wednesday and Scholz’s political track record, few expect radical changes at the pinnacle of German politics. “It will be a change because Merkel will no longer be here. I doubt he’s big, ”Hirst said.
* With information from Rob Picheta, Frederick Platgen, Sugam Pokharala, Jennifer Deaton and Helen Regan, from CNN
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