Germany: poll, Verdi first party with 26 per cent – The Greens are the first party in Germany with 26 per cent of the votes, down by one point since last May 1st. This is what we learn from a survey by the German polling institute Kantar for the newspaper “Bild”. In second place is the Union, a conservative Christian Democrat group formed in the Bundestag by the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian-Social Union (CSU), which slipped from 24 to 23 percent. The German Social Democratic Party (SpD) earns one point and reaches 16 percent. The Liberal Democratic Party (FDP) follows in comeback from 11 to 12 per cent. A national conservative formation that also collects support from the far right, Alternative for Germany (AfD) is stuck at 10 percent. The Left remains unchanged at 7 percent. The other parties are stable at 6 percent overall.
Germany: SpD, Scholz candidacy for chancellor made official – The German Social Democratic Party (SpD) has formalized the appointment of the Minister of Finance, Olaf Scholz, as its candidate for chancellor for the Bundestag elections, which will be held on 26 September next. As reported by the newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, the decision was taken by the congress held by the SpD in videoconference yesterday, 9 May. In his speech, Scholz highlighted the main points of the electoral program of the Social Democrats. In particular, it is a question of “child insurance” as a reform of family allowances and the introduction of a ceiling on rents, which “must not increase more strongly than inflation”. According to Scholz, “no one should be afraid of rising rents”. The Finance Minister then warned that “a new government led by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) would be a risk to well-being, employment” and Germany. Finally, Scholz underlined that “climate change is the decisive issue for humanity in this century”.