FILE PHOTO: German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz poses for a portrait during an interview with Reuters in his ministry in Berlin, Germany, June 5, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
A successful bid by Scholz to lead the Social Democrats would bring more stability to Merkel’s shaky “Grand Coalition”, which the SPD joined reluctantly last year after a 2017 election. Scholz is the most high-profile candidate to join the race and a recent poll found he was the second-most favorite politician among Germans to become the next chancellor.
Scholz has rejected such calls, saying his party was committed to serve the full legislative term until 2021.Merkel has said she will not run for a fifth term and her protegee Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is expected to lead the conservatives in the next election.