Scholz and Weidel will lead their parties in the Bundestag elections

14.01.2025/11/00 XNUMX:XNUMX    496

The Social Democrats and the far-right in Germany have approved their candidates for chancellor at their congresses and named their main political competitor, who for both are the conservatives.

It was known at the end of last year that the (for now) ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) would choose Olaf Scholz as its candidate for chancellor in the February 23 elections, and that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) would run under the leadership of Alice Weidel. However, these politicians were officially nominated only on Saturday, January 11, at their congresses: Scholz almost unanimously, Weidel unanimously.

OPTIMISTIC SCHOLTZ

99,16 percent of the congress delegates voted by name for the current chancellor, with five people raising their hands against.

In principle, the congress confirmed what the party leadership had decided in a narrow circle at the end of November, deciding to back the same "horse" as in 2021 (when Scholz's candidacy was supported by 96,2 percent of delegates during a secret ballot). Then, after the collapse of the ruling coalition, which was headed by Scholz, there was a fierce debate about whether it would be worth nominating a much more popular politician, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. In the end, the SPD did not use this chance, apparently hoping that this time something like the 2021 elections would happen, when literally at the last moment they managed to snatch victory from the conservatives with a lead of "as much as" 1,6 percent, and a certain "luck" on Scholz's part would "play a role".

The candidate himself, smiling, noted that he knows "that winter election campaigns can end well": he ran for mayor of Hamburg twice and won twice, both in February.

“We will win,” Scholz promised, accepting a bouquet of red flowers. Red is the party color of the Social Democrats. Their election slogan is “More for you, better for Germany.”

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By this, the Social Democrats understand their plans to improve the well-being of the republic's residents and "restore the successful Made in Germany brand for ordinary Germans."

Scholz explained how they want to do this in a speech that lasted almost an hour. Of course, he did not bypass the topic of the war in Ukraine. After all, the entire period of the government he led and even its collapse were influenced by this war.




Scholz did not say anything fundamentally new. He repeated his well-known "mantras" - promises to continue to stand in solidarity with Ukraine while working to achieve a "just" peace, as well as a determination to prevent Germany from being drawn into a war with nuclear Russia.

“Will we now continue to support Ukraine steadfastly and thoughtfully, or will we embark on dangerous adventures in matters of war and peace?” Scholz asked. And he answered himself: “There is one political force in Germany that unconditionally stands on the side of Ukraine and at the same time makes sure that we are not drawn into this war, the SPD.”

Scholz sees himself as a balanced and responsible politician. A “chancellor of peace.” He apparently also includes the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, Friedrich Merz, among the adventurers, who previously did not rule out the possibility of transferring long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

Scholz paid a lot of attention to the criticism of the conservatives, in whose government he successfully worked until 2021, summing up: "Now is not the time for old recipes... Not the time for the CDU/CSU in Germany!" The SPD candidate promised to prevent the CDU from receiving a mandate to form a new government.

Alice Weidel surrounded by like-minded people. Photo: X/Tino_Chrupalla

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WARRIOR VAYDEL

The slogan of the Alternative for Germany campaign is “Time for Alice Weidel. Time for Germany.” The party color is blue.

The AfD's election leader, Alice Weidel, was unanimously elected by delegates at a congress held that day in the town of Riesa, Saxony. She became the first candidate for chancellor in the party's 11-year history.

The AfD congress itself took place against the backdrop of violent and sometimes violent protests, which made it so difficult for delegates to reach the meeting place that it had to start with a two-hour delay.

In her energetic speech, which lasted about a quarter of an hour, Weidel thanked the police for making it possible for her to get to the venue at all. She also thanked one person – Elon Musk – for making the congress possible on his X platform, and for urging people to vote for the Alternative for Germany party.

By the way, in order to fill the airwaves with something while waiting for the congress to begin, its organizers played a recording of Weidel's "conversation" with the owner of the social network, American billionaire Musk, with German subtitles (after all, the couple spoke English). However, the broadcast was broadcast until the moment when the party leader began to express her vision of Adolf Hitler's personality, calling him "a communist who considered himself a socialist." Apparently, this would have been too much even for the most extreme rightists and their sympathizers.

Among the main messages and, accordingly, program points of the "Alternative" are the exit from the European migration system of granting asylum, closing the borders, generally "tightening the screws" on migrants and, ultimately, "remigration" (the antonym of the word migration). Weidel also promised to restore the Nord Stream gas pipeline, abandon the European "green course", continue the operation of nuclear power plants that have not yet been completely dismantled, and invest in new reactors, restore the operation of coal-fired power plants, etc.

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She did not mention Ukraine.

Weidel also leveled her main criticism at the conservatives from the CDU/CSU and urged her voters to overtake their main competitors. She apparently does not consider the other parties to be a big problem for her.

MAIN ADVANCE

According to the latest opinion polls in Germany, the conservative CDU/CSU bloc remains the leader of the race with 29-30% support, but there is currently a slight decline in ratings.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is in second place with 21-22 percent. This political force, on the contrary, continues to improve its position.

Currently, the ruling Social Democratic Party has 16%.

"Greens" – 13-14%.

If the elections were held this weekend, the left-wing Bloc of Sarah Wagenknecht would also enter parliament.

The liberals from the Free Democratic Party, who were part of the ruling coalition until November 6, are in a "borderline" state of 4-5% and may not overcome the threshold at all.

All democratic parties have so far absolutely ruled out cooperation with the right-wing radicals of the AfD. But as the numbers show, it will be extremely difficult for them to form a functioning government. It is no coincidence that at the beginning of his speech, Olaf Scholz mentioned with great concern neighboring Austria, where an "extreme right" politician could take the position of chancellor, while recently this also seemed absolutely impossible.

Weidel, in turn, noted that all other parties are ready to sacrifice their campaign promises just to avoid uniting with her party. And the Alternative for Germany has long been repeating that governing Germany without their participation is absolutely impossible.

The elections are exactly 6 weeks away. They will be tough for all opponents.

Olga Tanasychuk, Berlin


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