Germany's unpopular chancellor chosen by party to run for 2nd term

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be formally nominated to run for a second term at a meeting of the Social Democrats on Monday, despite abysmal approval ratings and calls from within the centre-left party for him to bow out, reported dpa.

"We want to go into the next election campaign with Olaf Scholz," Social Democrats (SPD) co-leader Lars Klingbeil said late Thursday.

The decision comes after weeks of speculation about whether Scholz would be forced by the SPD to step aside for someone who could improve the party's chances in the early elections expected on February 23.

But Scholz's way was cleared earlier in the day when a potential rival, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, forcefully declared that he did not want to be the party's top candidate and threw his support to Scholz.

"This is my sovereign, my personal and very own decision," Pistorius said, adding that Scholz was "the right chancellor candidate."

"Scholz stands for reason and prudence. And that is of particular importance in times like these, in times of global upheaval and dangerous populist attacks on democracy worldwide," he added.

Scholz's nomination is to take place on Monday at the regular meeting of the party executive committee, Klingbeil said.

Pistorius, who has long polled as the most popular minister in government, had become the focal point of tense party discussions over who should run as the SPD candidate in the elections.

Scholz has been in the job since 2021. But he and the SPD are plagued by poor poll ratings, which prompted speculation that the party could ditch him in favour of another candidate.

A number of SPD politicians at the local and national levels had openly spoken out in favour of a candidacy by Pistorius in recent days.

Scholz has been insisting that he would stand again. But while the SPD leadership had continued to back him publicly they had refrained from nominating him as the party's official candidate.

Early nationwide elections were triggered after Scholz's three-party governing coalition collapsed earlier this month following the chancellor's decision to sack former finance minister Christian Lindner.

However, if Scholz wants to be re-elected, he will have to pull off an extreme comeback, as the SPD is currently polling far behind the main CDU/CSU conservative alliance. It also trails the far-right Alternative for Germany.

According to a recent poll by the Bild newspaper, Scholz's personal approval rating stands at 31.4%. Pistorius was the most popular politician in the country at 52.8%.

Pistorius said he wants to continue to work on his current portfolio: "As defence minister, I am not yet finished with what I want to achieve, what must be achieved for our security. I look forward to a second term."