GERMANY’S Social Democratic Party has unanimously elected Martin Schulz as the party’s top candidate to challenge Chancellor Angela Merkel in the country’s forthcoming general election.
Party leaders had unexpectedly nominated Schulz in January after long-time chairman Sigmar Gabriel stepped aside.
Since then, the Social Democrats have enjoyed a surge in the polls that has been attributed to the “Schulz effect”.
In a speech to delegates at a special convention in Berlin, Schulz evoked the party’s 154-year history of campaigning for workers’ rights and called for greater investment in education and health care.
He blamed the growing gap between average voters and the ultra-rich for souring politics and for boosting the popularity of nationalist and populist politicians.
The 61-year-old, who was until recently the president of the European Parliament, said his party would work to strengthen international co-operation, including with the United States, but rejected what he called the “misogynistic, anti-democratic and racist” rhetoric of President Donald Trump.
Schulz, the only nominee for the post of party chairman, received 100% of the delegates’ votes, an unprecedented result in its post-war history.
An opinion poll published this weekend by the weekly Bild am Sonntag put support for the Social Democrats at 32%, one point behind Merkel’s Union bloc.
Analysts say Schulz benefits from being a relative newcomer to domestic politics compared with Merkel, who is running for a fourth term on September 24.
The Social Democrats’ general secretary, Katarina Barley, told reporters the party has seen 13,000 new members join this year.
The first real test of the “Schulz effect” comes next Sunday, when voters in the small western state of Saarland go to the polls to elect a new government.
Schulz and Merkel’s parties are currently in a coalition government in the state, as they are at the national level.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here