Ashraf AboAraf
It seems that Olaf Scholz has managed what many in Germany had considered impossible: bringing the Social Democrats back from the dead.
Germany’s oldest political party, the center-left Social Democratic Party, known by its German acronym SPD, has languished in the polls for years. But in Sunday’s elections, the SPD pulled ahead, winning 26 percent of the vote, according to preliminary numbers. The center-right Christian Democrats won 24 percent of the vote, the lowest mark for the party since its founding in 1945.
According to the Washington Post, Germany’s Social Democrats narrowly defeat Angela Merkel’s party, according to preliminary results
The tight totals leave an unclear and lengthy path forward for Scholz to build a coalition. Scholz and Christian Democratic leader Armin Laschet have said they hope to have a coalition formed by Christmas.
“Obviously Merkel has left a huge impact on the political culture of Germany through her governing style,” said political communications consultant Frank Stauss, who has worked with the SPD in the past. Scholz is not a “Merkel clone” — but he has a similar enough political style and proximity to attract voters that might be looking for more of the same, he added.
A lifelong Social Democrat, Scholz was born in Osnabrück in the western German state of Lower Saxony and raised in the wealthy city-state of Hamburg on Germany’s northern coast, where he also served as mayor. Alternating between state and national politics, he has served in the parliament, or Bundestag, and as minister of labor and social affairs in Merkel’s first cabinet.
His political career has been buffeted by several scandals. While mayor of Hamburg he faced criticism for his handling of the Group of 20 summit in 2017, as the event descended into widespread violence between protesters and police.
