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Ammon News - BY Philip Whiteside

Merkel and Scholz know each other well - Social Democrat Scholz has been Merkel's finance minister and vice chancellor in the uneasy "grand coalition" of conservatives and members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) she had to bring together to form a government in 2017.

After 16 years of Angela Merkel in the chancellorship, Germany can be said to value leaders who are regarded as strong and steady.

It is something the leading contender in the country's election, Olaf Scholz, has counted on during his bid to become the natural successor to the outgoing leader - despite being from a different party.

As polls closed on Sunday night, preliminary results showed the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP), lead by Mr Scholz, had won the biggest share of the vote, beating Ms Merkel's centre-right Union bloc.

Election officials said that a count of all 299 constituencies showed the SPD won 25.8% to the Union bloc's 24.1%.

No winning party in a German national election has previously taken less than 31% of the vote and groups will now need to negotiate a coalition government.

Due to Germany's complicated electoral system, a full breakdown of the result by seats in parliament is still pending.

Mr Scholz has been Ms Merkel's finance minister and vice chancellor in the uneasy "grand coalition" of conservatives and members of the SPD she had to bring together to form a government in 2017.

Following the results, Mr Sholz said the outcome was a "very clear mandate to ensure now that we put together a good, pragmatic government for Germany".

Although frequently labelled "boring", the 63-year-old finance minister has been keen to present himself as a man of action who can be trusted to get things done.

And, despite promising continuity and stability, Mr Scholz has distanced himself from his former conservative partners in the coalition, claiming they are too cozy with business.

A lawyer by background, he is a widely experienced politician having served in some of the highest offices at local and national level.

He first entered the German parliament at the age of 40 in 1998, and, amid spells of various lengths within the government of the city-state of Hamburg, has been high up in the federal government or SPD for the last 20 years.

He was mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018 but has also held the position of SPD chief whip, SPD deputy leader, and minister of labour and social affairs in Ms Merkel's first government, as well as his current roles.

During the pandemic, Mr Scholz won praise from the International Monetary Fund for his measures, having ditched a balanced budget at home to protect the German economy and helped create the EU's COVID recovery fund, despite Ms Merkel's initial resistance.

Amid soaring German inflation and pressure from his conservative adversaries, he has been keen to keep the activities of the European Central Bank (ECB) separate to the government's handling of the German economy, pointing to the need to respect the ECB's independence, following the lead of his chancellor.

He also cooperated with France to drive forward efforts to introduce a global minimum rate of corporate tax and new tax rules for tech giants.

His combination of prudence and vital assistance amid the crisis have paid off.

A snap poll after the last TV debate showed Mr Scholz won a clean sweep, despite conservative candidate Armin Laschet attacking his record on tackling money laundering.

From the moderate wing of his party and thoroughly versed in the realities of German government, if he wins he will set about the task of building a coalition, probably with the Greens, but perhaps of the grand coalition type that Ms Merkel has lived happily with repeatedly, alongside her CDU party.

During the COVID era, he has underwritten his left-of-centre credentials with a significant stimulus package but, in opposition to some on the left of his party - which is similar to the UK's Labour movement - he wants Germany to rein in debt by 2023, reintroducing strict limits on federal and state government spending.

His claim to be as calm and collected as his potential predecessor may be on shakier ground than he admits, having shown a tetchiness in the past in his dealings with the media and rioters during the Hamburg G20 event, but he is adamant he is driven by pragmatism, not personality.

"I'm applying for chancellor, not to be a circus ringmaster," he told women's magazine Brigitte.

*SKY