German Finance Minister to run for SPD head — reports
August 16, 2019
Olaf Scholz has reportedly thrown his hat in the ring to co-head the SPD. If confirmed, the finance minister and vice chancellor would be the most prominent candidate running to lead the embattled center-left party.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Schmidt
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German Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was willing to run for the leadership of the Social Democrats (SPD), newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday.
"I am ready to run if you want me to," Scholz reportedly told the interim heads of the SPD in a telephone conference.
No one opposed his offer on the call, a source told Der Spiegel.
News agency AFP also reported that the finance minister was ready to become a candidate, citing party sources.
Scholz had previously ruled out running for the top post, citing time constraints. A spokesperson at the Finance Ministry also declined to comment on the report.
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Crowded field of candidates
If the reports are confirmed, Scholz would be the only SPD member of the German Cabinet to run for the leadership of the party.
Over 10 other candidates are reportedly in the running, although many of them are relatively unknown on the national political stage.
On Friday, the party's current deputy leader Ralf Stegner and Gesine Schwan, who heads the SPD's basic values committee, formally announced their candidacies at a press conference in Berlin.
SPD members are due to vote on the party's new leaders at a convention in December, after former SPD head Andrea Nahles stepped down from her post in June following the European Parliament elections, which brought the latest in a series of disastrous election results for the party.
Who could take over as head of Germany's Social Democrats?
Andrea Nahles has resigned as leader of the Social Democrats after the party's poor performance in the European elections. Whoever takes the reins inherits a party in disarray. DW looks at the potential candidates.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Stephan Weil, premier of Lower Saxony
The 60-year-old leads a coalition of the SPD and the Christian Democrats in his northern state. In the Bundesrat — the council of Germany's 16 states and upper house of parliament — he serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and is deputy chairman of the Committee on European Affairs. Many in the SPD have long seen him as a possible new hope to lead the party forward.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Jaspersen
Manuela Schwesig, premier of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Schwesig, born and raised in the former East Germany, is the first woman to lead the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The 45-year-old previously served as minister of family affairs under Chancellor Angela Merkel, a role she used to push for equal opportunities for women and better state childcare facilities. She serves on the Bundesrat's Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
Olaf Scholz, finance minister and vice chancellor
Scholz, 60, is seen by some of his fellow party members as a technocrat and is considered to belong to the SPD's conservative wing. As finance minister under Merkel, he has been committed to curbing public spending and keeping a lid on new debt. He also served as federal minister of labor and social affairs in Merkel's Cabinet from 2007 to 2009.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
Malu Dreyer, premier of Rhineland-Palatinate
A reasonably popular figure in the SPD, Dreyer was voted in as deputy party chairwoman in 2017 with 97.5% backing. Despite repeatedly stating she would not want to leave her western state for Berlin, she is still seen as a possible replacement for Nahles. The 58-year-old has served as premier of Rhineland-Palatinate since 2013 and is the first woman to hold the office.
Image: Imago/J. Jeske
Rolf Mützenich
The 59-year-old Bundestag member from Cologne is one of the deputy chairs of the SPD's parliamentary group. In that role, he is responsible for foreign affairs, defense and human rights policy. He is well respected within the party and could be tapped as interim SPD leader in the Bundestag.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M.Kappeler
Achim Post, SPD leader in North Rhine-Westphalia
The 60-year-old sociologist leads the SPD in Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. He is a deputy chair of the SPD's parliamentary group, overseeing budgetary affairs, finance and Europe. As secretary-general of the Party of European Socialists, he is also considered well connected at the European level.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. v.Jutrczenka
Martin Schulz, ex-SPD leader
The former president of the European Parliament has been suggested as another possible challenger. The 63-year-old ran as the SPD's candidate for chancellor in 2017 but lost to Merkel. He subsequently stepped down as SPD leader. He has already said he doesn't want the job back, but Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported last week that he was keen to lead the SPD parliamentary group.
