German FM could run for Chancellor if Bundestag was dissolved

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
19 Feb 15:55

A Wahlen survey reported that the three-party coalition led by Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz would not be able to stand if the Bundestag held a vote this week.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, February 18, 2023.

If the ruling coalition loses support from voters over how it handled the war in Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock would run for Chancellor, according to recent media reports.

According to a poll released by Wahlen on Sunday, if a Bundestag vote were to be conducted this week, the three-party coalition led by Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz would likely lose its majority in the legislature.

According to a diplomatic source cited by the French weekly Journal du Dimanche, Scholz's hesitant coalition partner and Greens leader Baerbock would run for president if the Bundestag was dissolved.

Scholz and Baerbock have increasingly faced differences regarding how to approach the war in Ukraine; while Scholz dismissed the possibility of a direct armed confrontation between NATO and Russia, Baerbock controversially said that Europe was already at war with Moscow.

If a general election were held this week, according to the Wahlen survey, the opposition conservatives would garner 30% of the vote, making them the strongest party.

The Greens maintained their 19% support, while Scholz' SPD finished in second with 20%. Liberal FDP, the coalition's minority partner, would hold 5% of the vote.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius received the highest personal rating of 1.6 points, followed by Green Party Economy Minister Robert Habeck at 0.9, Olaf Scholz at 0.7, and Annalena Baerbock at 0.6.