Olaf Scholz
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Olaf Scholz

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Olaf Scholz
Olaf Scholz
Olaf Scholz began his tenure as the chancellor of Germany on 8 December 2021; a member of the Social Democratic Party, he previously served as vice-chancellor under his immediate predecessor, Angela Merkel, and as federal minister of finance from 2018 to 2021.
Born
14 Jun 1958
Industry
Politics
Job Title
Politician
Friedrich Merz attends a federal executive committee meeting for the first time as German chancellor, at the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus in Berlin, on May 19. Photo: EPA-EFE
European Union

Opinion | Stumbling Germany needs a clear strategy on China

Berlin must ditch the fantasy that it can profit without strategic risks, stop acting like a junior partner and decide what it stands for.

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Germany

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China-Germany relations

Opinion | Why Germany’s leader called China’s over Ukraine – and why it matters

By inviting China into the equation on Ukraine, Merz is acknowledging that those who can shape outcomes – however flawed – must be engaged.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Ukraine war

Germany to help Ukraine build long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia

The weapons will have no range restrictions, allowing Kyiv to defend itself against ‘military targets outside its own territory’, Merz says.

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Ukraine war

Russia warns Germany over signal on long-range weapons for Ukraine

Germany’s chancellor said there were no more range restrictions on weapons supplied to Kyiv.

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United States

Opinion | Trumpism is waning but leaders still need to address voter frustrations

In recent elections across three continents, Trumpism mainly backfired – but democracies still need to understand why it resonates.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
China-Germany relations

Xi seeks deeper EU ties

President Xi Jinping said he was “ready to work” with Germany’s new chancellor on boosting China’s ties with the country and the wider European Union.

Germany

Germany’s Merz gets coalition deal, eyes reviving growth as global trade war looms

Merz, who called the US an unreliable ally, has already vowed to build up defence spending as Europe faces a hostile Russia.

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Germany

Opinion | Why Germany can’t afford not to spend billions on defence

For decades, Germans took Russia’s energy, China’s market and the US’ security guarantee for granted. They can’t be so complacent any more.

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An honour guard of the German armed forces Bundeswehr marches during a ceremony in honour of soldiers deployed to Mali, in front of the German Ministry of Defence in Berlin in 2024. Germany’s incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to oversee a spending surge to boost German infrastructure and its armed forces. Photo: AFP
Ukraine war

Opinion | Appeasing Russia and forcing Ukraine into a peace deal will breed chaos

It would embolden Putin, make Ukraine a breeding ground for mass migration, a weapons surge, even civil war – affecting Europe and beyond.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Mainland China

Editorial | Germany’s ties with China sacrosanct, no matter the leaders

As Friedrich Merz begins negotiations to form a coalition government, Berlin should keep in mind the importance of relations with Beijing.

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Germany

Police in Berlin break up protests in front of far-right AfD’s headquarters

Protest came as the AfD made historic gains in the German parliamentary election on Sunday.

Germany

Germany’s conservatives win election as far-right makes historic gains

Friedrich Merz, set to become new chancellor, took aim at the United States after his victory in Germany’s election.

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Friedrich Merz addresses supporters in Berlin after the German national election. Photo: AP
Germany

Germans vote under shadow of far-right surge, Trump

The conservatives lead polls, with Friedrich Merz likely to be chancellor, while the far-right AfD could achieve a historic result.

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A resident casts a vote at a polling station in Berlin, Germany on February. 23, 2025, during the German national election. Photo: AP
China-EU relations

Why a post-election shift in Germany’s China policy is no longer a sure bet

Front runner Friedrich Merz has long been expected to take a hawkish stance, but Trump and electoral maths may limit his room for manoeuvre.

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Ukraine war

EU leaders to head to Kyiv, Macron to visit Trump to shore up Ukraine support

UK media reported that Britain and France were pushing ahead with discussions about a European force to secure a peace agreement in Ukraine.

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Ukraine war

Europe talks up more defence spending, but split over peacekeepers in Ukraine

European leaders at an emergency meeting in Paris were divided on how to respond to Donald Trump’s dramatic policy shift on Ukraine.

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French President Emmanuel Macron and Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Paris on Monday. Photo: Reuters
Russia

Russians risk reprisals to visit Navalny grave on death anniversary

Russia has still not fully explained circumstances of opposition leader’s death, saying he died during a walk in yard of Arctic penal colony.

Germany

US interference in German election unacceptable, Scholz says

The Chancellor pushed back on US Vice-President J.D. Vance’s speech from the previous day, defending Germany’s taboo against the far-right.

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Germany

Scholz vs Merz: German chancellor candidates clash in election TV debate

Olaf Scholz and Friedrich Merz clashed over the far-right AfD ahead of Germany’s February 23 vote.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his conservative challenger Friedrich Merz on Sunday. Photo: dpa
Germany

German chancellor hopeful urges quick coalition talks

Conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz said he hoped a new coalition could be formed ‘by Easter’ despite an arduous coalition process.

A man walks past election posters showing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and the conservative CDU’s candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz, in Frankfurt, Germany, on Saturday. Photo: AP
Germany

German migrant bill backed by far-right fails in blow to election front runner

If the law had passed, it would have been the first in the country’s modern history to do so thanks to the support of the far-right.

Germany

German Holocaust remembrance under fire from far-right, Elon Musk

At AfD rally, Musk said there’s ‘too much focus on past guilt and ‘children should not be guilty for the sins of their great grandparents’.

Germany

Musk promotes German far-right leader in wide-ranging online chat

X spaces event was Elon Musk’s latest foray into European politics, where he has become a loud advocate for far-right parties.

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Germany’s far-right candidate Alice Weidel. Photo: AFP
Germany

Germany’s Scholz outraged over ‘indecent’ Moscow visit speculation

CDU lawmaker claimed that the chancellor would go to Moscow or meet with Vladimir Putin before Germany’s elections.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Germany

Germany set for February 23 snap election after president dissolves parliament

Election campaigning has begun in earnest, with conservatives having a comfortable lead of more than 10 points over the SPD.

Germany

Saudi suspect in German Christmas market attack held on multiple murder charges

Officials say Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a doctor, was angry about country’s permissive attitude to refugees from other mainly Muslim countries.

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