Support for Defense Minister Boris Pistorius as an alternative candidate for chancellor is growing within Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), challenging the re-nomination of current Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Bundestag member Joe Weingarten from Rhineland-Palatinate was the first to publicly advocate for Pistorius’s candidacy, urging party leadership to consider him. Former SPD leader Franz Müntefering also stated that the chancellor candidate should be determined at a party convention, if necessary through a vote of no confidence. He emphasized that internal opposition candidates are a normal democratic practice.
According to polls, 64-year-old Pistorius remains Germany’s most popular politician, while Scholz’s approval ratings are significantly lower. Despite this, the SPD currently plans to nominate Scholz for the upcoming elections. Pistorius, for his part, has previously expressed support for Scholz and denied any ambitions to run.
Meanwhile, pressure on Scholz is mounting amid declining approval of his government. Over half of Germans support early elections, with polls predicting success for the opposition Christian Democratic Union.
