Volkswacht Bodensee - German Social Democrats name Scholz as top candidate for snap polls

The way had been cleared for Scholz to become the SPD's chancellor candidate after his popular defence minister, Boris Pistorius, last week ruled himself out of the race.

The SPD's federal executive board unanimously backed Scholz on Monday, party sources told AFP. The decision is expected to be formally confirmed at a party congress on January 11.

The elections are to be held seven months earlier than scheduled after the collapse of Scholz's coalition with the Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) in early November.

The SPD leadership was to formally announce that Scholz, 66, is to take the helm of the party's election campaign and urge members to close ranks behind him.

But it is a risky gamble for Germany's oldest political party, which is languishing at around 15 percent in opinion polls.

Scholz is the face of a failed government marked by perpetual disputes, wrote news magazine Der Spiegel, labelling him "probably the weakest, most unsuitable candidate for the chancellorship that the SPD has ever put forward".

The main opposition conservatives, the CDU-CSU alliance, are way ahead in opinion surveys with 33 percent, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is polling at 18 percent.

- 'Peace chancellor' -

But even with the odds stacked against him, the man nicknamed the "Scholzomat" for his dry and uninspiring style of public speaking appears convinced he can again lead his party to victory.

Scholz has pointed out that he defied dire predictions and triumphed at Germany's last elections in 2021, when he greatly benefited from divisions within the conservative opposition.

In a speech on Friday, Scholz was already courting voters by calling for "prudence" in Germany's approach to military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

While Germany is Kyiv's second-biggest military backer, Scholz has refused to send long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, fearing they could escalate the conflict.

According to a recent survey by public broadcaster ARD, 61 percent of Germans support that decision.

Scholz also held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, leading the opposition to accuse him of electioneering tactics by seeking to present himself as the "peace chancellor".

SPD general secretary Matthias Miersch on Sunday called on the SPD to "stand united behind Scholz", acknowledging that "the debates of the last few weeks have certainly not helped" the party.

- Campaign mode -

Several senior party members had spoken out in favour of Pistorius, saying that Scholz was too closely associated with the failed three-party coalition.

But SPD politician Dirk Wiese, who just a few days ago hinted that he was behind Pistorius, told the RND broadcaster last weekend that the party now had to "flip the switch and go into election campaign mode".

Party members have suggested they will focus on Scholz's experience and his reputation as a safe pair of hands in the election campaign.

Saarland's SPD state premier Anke Rehlinger told the TAZ newspaper that Scholz was "a pro in the chancellery" who had weathered multiple crises and overcome them.

Pistorius, 64, also highlighted Scholz's experience when he announced his decision to step out of the race.

"In Olaf Scholz we have an excellent chancellor," he said in a YouTube video last week.

The conservatives, meanwhile, have welcomed Scholz's candidacy arguing he will be easier to beat than Pistorius.

The decision "is good for us", said CDU lawmaker Mathias Middelberg. "Pistorius would have been more unpleasant for the CDU and the CSU."

M.Vogt--VB