BERLIN, Sept 26 — Olaf Scholz, the centre-left Social Democrat candidate to succeed Angela Merkel, is one of Germany’s most influential politicians, with a reputation for being meticulous, confident and fiercely ambitious.
Nicknamed “Scholzomat” for his robotic speeches, Scholz has hardly stood out for his charisma in the run-up to today’s election. Despite his tight grip on Germany’s finances, Scholz has been known to loosen the purse strings, notably as mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018, when he bailed out the wildly over-budget Elbphilharmonie concert hall.
As labour minister in Merkel’s first coalition government from 2007 to 2009, Scholz helped avert mass lay-offs during the financial crisis by convincing firms to cut workers’ hours with the state topping up their salaries — a policy repeated during the pandemic.
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