FOR months, Sigmar Gabriel, the boss of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD), has wrestled with the decision of whether to run against Angela Merkel, the chancellor, in the federal election on September 24th. His personal popularity lags far behind hers. In polls, the SPD has the support of only 21% of Germans; Mrs Merkel’s centre-right bloc has 37%. His support in his own party, especially among its left wing, is weak. And, as Mrs Merkel’s coalition partner, vice-chancellor and cabinet minister, he sounded unconvincing when attacking her policies. Knowing that he was bound to fail, on January 24th he chose instead to surprise his party by stepping down and handing over to another Social Democrat with a better chance.
The new party leader and candidate for chancellor will be a friend of his, Martin Schulz. Mr Schulz, as the former president of the European Parliament, has several advantages over Mr Gabriel (who is planning to become foreign minister instead). Mr Schulz is known as a straight talker and an unequivocal champion of European integration. Standing next to Mr Gabriel for his announcement, he promised to “fight all...Continue reading
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