German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has confirmed that he will run again in the 2025 election.
Making the announcement at an earlier press conference, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader also pledged his unwavering support for Ukraine and defended the decision to deploy American long-range missiles on German soil.
Asked if there was a possibility that he would follow Joe Biden’s lead and drop out of the election race, Scholz quipped: “Thank you for this extremely nice and friendly question.”
Scheduled for autumn next year, the Bundestag election comes on the heels of chastening European election results. In June, the SPD scored only 13.9% of the vote, languishing well behind the largest opposition party, the CDU (30%).
According to one poll earlier in the week, only one third of SPD members still consider Scholz the right person to lead them to victory.
Scholz, however, was bullish as he downplayed the significance of the polls. “Results that are not good are an incentive to act in order to achieve better results,” he said.
Questioned on the decision to locate American long-range missiles in Germany, Scholz stressed that this was “about effective deterrence” in the face of Russia’s withdrawal from arms control agreements.
Scholz also reiterated his support for Ukraine while emphasizing that Germany would not send troops to the war torn country.
The chancellor doubled down on his support of Israel, saying that Germany reserved the right to continue delivering weapons to Israel. “We have been delivering weapons to Israel and have not made any decision to stop," he said.
Scholz has led the coalition government since 2017. This is the first such alliance in Federal Republic’s history, but has been beset by squabbles between the other two members, the Greens and the FDP.
Asked if there was a possibility that he would follow Joe Biden’s lead and drop out of the election race, Scholz quipped: “Thank you for this extremely nice and friendly question.”
Scheduled for autumn next year, the Bundestag election comes on the heels of chastening European election results. In June, the SPD scored only 13.9% of the vote, languishing well behind the largest opposition party, the CDU (30%).
According to one poll earlier in the week, only one third of SPD members still consider Scholz the right person to lead them to victory.
Scholz, however, was bullish as he downplayed the significance of the polls. “Results that are not good are an incentive to act in order to achieve better results,” he said.
Questioned on the decision to locate American long-range missiles in Germany, Scholz stressed that this was “about effective deterrence” in the face of Russia’s withdrawal from arms control agreements.
Scholz also reiterated his support for Ukraine while emphasizing that Germany would not send troops to the war torn country.
The chancellor doubled down on his support of Israel, saying that Germany reserved the right to continue delivering weapons to Israel. “We have been delivering weapons to Israel and have not made any decision to stop," he said.
Scholz has led the coalition government since 2017. This is the first such alliance in Federal Republic’s history, but has been beset by squabbles between the other two members, the Greens and the FDP.
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