Pressure is mounting on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to relinquish leadership of his party, the Social Democrats (SPD), ahead of the upcoming snap elections. This move is seen as a potential lifeline for the party, currently polling in third place, to regain electoral momentum.

The SPD leadership has thus far supported Scholz’s bid for a second term in the federal elections, now rescheduled for 23 February 2025 following the collapse of the three-party coalition on 6 November. However, internal dissent is growing.

In two heated party meetings last week, SPD MPs deliberated over whether Defence Minister Boris Pistorius should replace Scholz as the party’s candidate. According to Der Spiegel and POLITICO, one meeting included the conservative wing of the SPD, while the other involved its left wing. Both groups reportedly had significant support for replacing Scholz with Pistorius.

Calls for Scholz to step aside reached a crescendo on Monday, with prominent SPD politicians from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, leading the charge.

Pistorius’ voices rise within the party

Dirk Wiese and Wiebke Esdar stated: “The focus is on finding the best political line-up for this election. We hear a lot of praise for Boris Pistorius. It is clear that the final decision on the chancellor candidacy will rest with the party committees, as it should.”

Markus Töns, a long-time SPD member, echoed this sentiment in Stern: “The chancellor has done a good job in difficult circumstances, but the coalition’s end signals a need for a fresh start. Boris Pistorius would make this easier than Olaf Scholz.”

Former SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel was even more critical. Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Gabriel warned of “growing resistance” within the SPD to Scholz’s leadership. “The SPD leadership’s only response is appeasement and loyalty pledges. What we need is bold political leadership. Without it, the SPD risks falling below 15 percent,” he cautioned.

Scholz confident of ‘support from the leadership’

The SPD leadership had planned to finalize the chancellor candidacy decision at its party conference on 30 November. However, the timeline may accelerate to quell the escalating debate.

Speaking from the G20 Summit in Brazil, Scholz dismissed questions about his candidacy, expressing confidence in party support. “The SPD and I aim to win this election together,” he told Die Welt. Secretary-General Lars Klingbeil reinforced this stance, stating on ARD television: “We are committed to continuing with Olaf Scholz—there’s no wavering.”

Chancellor returns without stopping in Mexico

Despite these reassurances, Scholz abruptly canceled his planned trip to Mexico, returning to Berlin after the G20 Summit amid rumors of party infighting. While the SPD leadership held a conference call on Tuesday to discuss the campaign strategy, no decisions were reached.

Recent opinion polls paint a bleak picture for both Scholz and the SPD. The party is polling at 16 percent, far behind the CDU and the far-right AfD, marking a steep decline of 10 points since the 2021 elections.

Yet, Boris Pistorius remains Germany’s most popular politician, consistently outpacing CDU leader Friedrich Merz in approval ratings. This has fueled hopes within the SPD that Pistorius could revitalize their electoral prospects.

Pistorius’ rising profile is not without controversy. Known for his hawkish stance on military issues, he advocates for making the German military “fit for war” and has pushed for increased defense spending to meet NATO’s 2 percent of GDP target. Critics argue that these positions clash with the SPD’s traditional skepticism toward military intervention and ties with Moscow.

Nonetheless, many within the SPD believe Pistorius offers the best chance to avoid a crushing defeat in February’s elections. Pistorius has championed investments to rebuild the Bundeswehr after decades of neglect and launched initiatives to recruit for Germany’s depleted armed forces. His restructuring of the army earlier this year emphasized regional defense over external missions.

Internationally, Pistorius’ assertive approach has earned respect from Western allies, positioning him as a strong contender for the chancellorship despite his public denials. “We already have a candidate, and he is the sitting chancellor,” Pistorius recently told German state television.

Workers across Greece are participating in a nationwide general strike today (20 November), encompassing all sectors of the country. The strike is being held under the slogans “Money for Wages, Education, and Health” and “Out of the War Slaughterhouses.”

This strike follows weeks of preparation, marked by massive protests and sector-wide actions involving doctors, construction workers, dockers, maritime workers, metal workers, telecom workers, hotel staff, and distribution employees. These coordinated efforts underscore the growing discontent among Greece’s working class.

In a statement, the Militant Front of All Workers (PAME), the organization leading the strike, declared: “For the strike to succeed, there is no alternative but to fight everywhere. If we don’t fight for our interests, we will gain nothing. The great strike struggles of construction workers, railway workers, delivery workers, hotel staff, miners in the shipbuilding region, dockers, shipyard workers, health workers, and teachers are showing the way, providing hope and optimism for more sectors to join in.”

The strike is expected to disrupt government offices, schools, hospitals, and public transportation, including trains and island ferries.

Yannis Panagopoulos, president of the leading private sector union GSEE, emphasized the growing challenges faced by workers: “The cost of living is too high, and our salaries have hit rock bottom, while the high cost of housing has left young people in a tragic situation.”

Like other labor groups, GSEE accused the government of “refusing to take meaningful measures to provide decent living conditions for workers.”

Currently, low-income Greeks are forced to subsist on a minimum wage of less than 900 euros per month, even as retail, telecom, and energy costs remain among the highest in Europe. The left-wing opposition often criticizes this disparity, claiming the less privileged are forced to pay “British prices on Bulgarian salaries.”

Conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis recently pledged to raise the minimum wage to 950 euros. However, critics argue that this measure is insufficient in a society where the wealth gap continues to widen, exacerbated by rising housing costs.

Despite these domestic struggles, international credit rating agencies have lauded the Mitsotakis administration for its fiscal reforms. These reforms have not only ensured Greece met financial targets and returned to investment-grade status, but also enabled the country to outperform other EU member states in terms of economic growth.

The planned comprehensive bilateral agreement between Germany and the UK will not be ratified as scheduled due to the collapse of the “traffic light” coalition in Berlin.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his German counterpart Olaf Scholz announced plans for the historic bilateral treaty—the first of its kind between the two nations—during Starmer’s visit to Berlin in August.

Although negotiations progressed rapidly, the agreement, initially expected to be finalized by January, now faces delays following the announcement of early elections in Germany.

“In view of the upcoming early elections to the German Bundestag, it is unlikely that the agreement will be ratified in the current legislative period,” the German government stated.

The ‘discontinuity principle’ halts progress

A week after the coalition collapsed amid internal political struggles, Scholz called for snap elections scheduled for February. With the SPD trailing behind the opposition CDU in polls, Scholz’s re-election appears uncertain, raising questions about the treaty’s future.

SPD foreign policy spokesman Nils Schmid previously told Euractiv that negotiations were set to conclude in January. This timeline aligned with the Bundestag’s schedule, allowing for ratification before the summer recess.

However, the German government clarified that the unfinished treaty would be subject to the “principle of discontinuity”. Under this rule, any bill not adopted during a legislative period is shelved and must be redrafted for reconsideration.

Negotiations cancelled

According to Euractiv, the ongoing negotiations have now been cancelled. The next German government will determine whether to resume talks and what the agreement’s content should include.

The agreement has been compared to the Treaty of Aachen (2019), which enhanced Franco-German relations by institutionalizing cooperation, including the creation of a joint parliamentary assembly.

Schmid noted that similar initiatives, such as regular meetings between parliamentary committees, were envisioned in the UK-Germany agreement.

London optimistic about progress

The UK government expressed satisfaction with the rapid pace of negotiations before the snap elections disrupted the timeline.

These negotiations, described as proceeding at an “unprecedented pace”, aimed to deliver practical benefits for citizens and a mutual focus on economic growth.

Germany had previously signed its first defense cooperation agreement with the UK under the Starmer government, reflecting deepening ties between the two nations.

While bilateral treaties typically take years to finalize, this agreement was on track to be concluded “within months”, according to UK officials.