Olaf Scholz- nicknamed "Scholzomat" for his robotic public appearances- has put his old robot-like, technocratic image behind him and secured an agreement to govern with the Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats.
December 8, 2021, is one of the most important days in the life of socialist Olaf Scholz (63 years), as it was the day on which he was officially elected chancellor of Germany and officially received from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier the document of his appointment to the position that former Chancellor Angela Merkel held for 16 years.
The 63-year-old former mayor of Hamburg promised voters continuity after 16 years under the conservative Mrs. Merkel, even though he was the candidate for the rival Social Democratic Party (SPD).
The quiet politician heads a government coalition of the Socialist, Greens and Free Democratic Party. The coalition came together after about two months of difficult negotiations to agree on a "traffic light," as the coalition is called because of the red, yellow, and green colors of the participating parties.
Scholz, who has been Finance Minister and Vice-Chancellor under Merkel since 2018, was the only horse the SPD could bet on. The party was lagging significantly in the opinion polls.
The former mayor of Hamburg was mocked when he claimed to be the next chancellor, but the sober way he campaigned was one of the secrets of his success.
Dust off defeat and get up, then move on with determination, and be confident—these are some aspects of Scholz’s personality who was born in Osnabrück in 1958.
Scholz sustained many tremors in his political career, but that did not shake his self-confidence and deviate him from his path. Not even the parliamentary commissions of inquiry into financial scandals that shook Germany, such as “Wirecard,” were able to prove anything against him.
Moreover, his pragmatic handling of the Covid crisis won him much praise and high approval ratings. As finance minister, Olaf Scholz oversaw the emergency €750bn (£675bn, $884bn) funding package put together by the federal government to help German businesses and workers survive the pandemic.
"This is the bazooka that's needed to get the job done," said Mr. Scholz. "We are putting all our weapons on the table to show that we are strong enough to overcome any economic challenge that this problem might pose."
On domestic policy, the Scholz government program calls for the abandonment of coal use by 2030, and the construction of new thermal power plants running on natural gas. In addition, the Scholz government intends to simplify the procedures for obtaining citizenship by reducing the required length of residence to five years, allowing dual citizenship, licensing the sale of marijuana and raising the minimum hourly wage from 9.6 to 12.5 euros.
The agreement, signed by the three parties to Germany's ruling coalition, states that Germany remains committed to cooperation within the framework of the European Union and NATO, and calls for the development of a "new eastern policy" at the EU level and the strengthening of the role of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Observers describe Scholz as a supporter of a "moderate policy" toward Russia.
Scholz is known for his criticism of Moscow's policies towards the Crimean Peninsula as well as events in eastern Ukraine. However, in May 2021 he supported the Nord Stream 2 project and criticized US sanctions against the companies involved in it, calling it "interference in the internal affairs of Germany and Europe".
In 2017, Schulz published a book called "Hoffnungsland," which focused on issues such as the migration crisis, Europe's future, and regional conflicts.
Olaf Scholz is married to fellow SPD politician Britta Ernst. The couple lived in Hamburg's Altona district before moving to Potsdam in 2018.
Scholz was raised in the mainstream Protestant Evangelical Church in Germany but later left it. At his inauguration as Chancellor in 2021, Scholz took the oath of office without a reference to God (the second Chancellor to do so after Gerhard Schröder) and is the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany to not belong to a church.
