Scholz or Pistorius: Germany's SPD to discuss candidates

Senior figures from Germany's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) met on Tuesday evening to discuss whether or not Chancellor Olaf Scholz is still the right man to lead the party into a snap election in February — or whether Defense Minister Boris Pistorius would be a better option.

The 2025 federal election has been brought forward after Scholz's three-way coalition government collapsed on November 6, prompting Germany's main parties to switch into campaign mode and nominate their potential candidates for the chancellery.

Traditionally, an incumbent chancellor would be expected to lead their party into an election but, with less than 100 days to go until the vote and Scholz's popularity at rock bottom, calls are growing within the SPD for change.

"It's completely clear that we want to stand together. And I can't complain about the support from the party leadership," Scholz said on private broadcasters ProSieben/Sat.1 late on Tuesday.

"We want to be successful together," he told reporters in Rio as the G20 summit drew to a close. "Together, the SPD and I." 

Tuesday's meeting involved several senior SPD politicians withing the party apparatus but not Pistorius; Scholz was in Rio and did not join the discussions. 

Germany's SPD: 'Many party colleagues would prefer Pistorius'

"The image of Chancellor Scholz is strongly associated with the coalition," said two SPD regional leaders from North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany's most populous state, adding that they were hearing "a lot of support for Pistorius" in their constituencies.

"Many party colleagues view Scholz very critically and would prefer Pistorius," said another regional SPD chair in the state of Lower Saxony. "We would welcome it if Scholz were to reflect and take the appropriate steps."

Former SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel also advised against "business as usual with Chancellor Scholz," warning that the party could end up polling under 15% if no change is made. In the central German state of Thuringia, the SPD mayor of Gotha predicted "a dreadful defeat" for the party were Scholz to continue.

Pistorius had originally made comments implying he did not want the nomination and that his desire would be to remain defense minister in the next German government.

But on Monday, when asked by reporters if he would "rule out" a nomination as chancellor candidate, he said, "in politics you should never rule anything out, regardless of what."

The only thing he could categorically rule out, he said, was that "I'll become the pope."

Support for Scholz within the party 

Scholz was at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro and not expected to return to Germany until Wednesday.

On the sidelines of the summit, he told several media outlets that he intends to lead the SPD into the election. "The SPD and I are going into the election to win it," he said, adding that he felt he enjoyed clear support. 

On Monday, SPD party bosses Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil said Scholz's candidacy was not up for debate, while the chancellor also received backing from his home city of Hamburg, where local SPD leaders insisted Scholz was "the right person" for the job.

In nearby Bremen, SPD chairwoman Gesa Wessolowski-Müller said, "Olaf Scholz represents calm-headed politics for all of society."

Pistorius declares himself 'a soldier of the party'

Asked on Monday evening about a potential candidacy, Defense Minister Pistorius declared his loyalty to Scholz and to his party.

Pistorius, currently polling as Germany's most popular politician having played a prominent role in Berlin's support for Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion 1,000 days ago, reiterated instead that he is a "deeply loyal person" and a "soldier of the party."

"Pistorius is popular, as opposed to Scholz," wrote the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) on Tuesday. "He cut a strong figure in the most important ministry there currently is and he has an aura which Scholz doesn't have."

Time running out for SPD

"A chancellor putsch in the middle of an election campaign is an incalculable risk," wrote the local daily Rhein-Zeitung in the western city of Koblenz. "But Scholz's communication weaknesses, his lack of self-criticism and his eroding power will not have escaped the SPD leadership. They must act now."

The party does appear to be in agreement that it has to act decisively and quickly. "We're currently in an undesirable state of flux," SPD parliamentary leader Johannes Fechner told Die Welt on Tuesday.

"It's vital that the party leadership decides swiftly," Philipp Türmer, head of the SPD youth branch, told Spiegel. "If it's Scholz, the leadership also needs to explain how we're going to turn the negative mood around and regain lost trust."

mf/rt (dpa, Reuters, AFP)