2024-07-24 13:54:04
“I will work as chancellor, to become consul again,” Scholz told reporters at his annual summer press conference in Berlin.
The cabinet has already registered September 28th, 2025 as the election date.
Scholz became prime minister after the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) won Germany’s last general election in 2021.
The SPD formed a coalition with the Greens and the liberal FDP, but the parties have clashed over many issues including climate measures and the budget.
The war in Ukraine, the subsequent energy crisis and high prices have also contributed to a general sense of disenchantment with the government.
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All three governing parties have seen their ratings drop, with the conservatives now the largest party and the far-right AfD polling in second place.
The SPD got its worst ever result in June’s EU elections with just 14 percent.
Amidst the turmoil, Scholz has also seen his popularity slide within his own club.
Only a third of SPD members believe he is the right candidate for Chancellor in 2025, according to a recent survey – with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius the favorite option for many.
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But Scholz on Wednesday said his team was “very united behind what I’m doing”.
“There has probably never been such a united SPD as the one that was put together before the federal election (2021) and managed to win… the election from a difficult starting position,” Scholz said.
The SPD has also been polling poorly ahead of the 2021 election but managed to stage a last-minute comeback, partly thanks to a weakened conservative camp that struggled to convince voters without former chancellor Angela Merkel.
READ ALSO: What the shock defection of a Greens MP to the CDU tells us about German politics
“We will remain united and pursue our course,” Scholz said.
Asked about potential young SPD candidates to replace him, Scholz even suggested that he could see himself standing as president for more than one term.
The party will be ready for that “by the end of the next legislative session or the one after that,” he said.
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