Olaf Scholz: Germany's Staid But Steady Next Chancellor

Olaf Scholz: Germany's staid but steady next chancellor

Berlin, Dec 8 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Dec, 2021 ) :Often described as austere and even robotic, Social Democrat Olaf Scholz nonetheless managed to inspire German voters in this year's election with a campaign that played on his reputation as a safe pair of hands.

Scholz, 63, will now take office as Germany's ninth post-war chancellor, replacing Angela Merkel who is leaving the political stage after 16 years.

The Social Democrats (SPD) had begun the election campaign at rock bottom in the polls, with many completely writing off Scholz's chances of heading the next government -- so much so that he didn't even have an official biography until this week.

But Scholz managed to stage a stunning upset, beating Merkel's conservatives by positioning himself as the best candidate to continue her legacy, even adopting her famous "rhombus" hand gesture on a magazine cover.

Unlike his rivals, he also managed not to make embarrassing mistakes during a campaign that drew on his reputation as a quiet workhorse, using the slogan "Scholz will sort it".

After a shorter than expected bout of post-election coalition haggling, Scholz has managed to forge an alliance with the Greens and the liberal FDP.

Once described by Der Spiegel magazine as "the embodiment of boredom in politics", Scholz has been slowly working his way up the ranks since the 1970s.

Born in the western city of Osnabrueck, he joined the SPD's youth movement in 1975 and was pictured at various peace demonstrations sporting wool sweaters and an unruly crop of long hair.