Political parties in Germany have been choosing their leadership candidates, ahead of February’s election. Olaf Scholz leads the Social Democrats again, while Alice Weidel has been endorsed for the far-right AfD party.
With thousands protesting at the AfD conference, our correspondent Peter Oliver reports from Berlin.
With thousands protesting at the AfD conference, our correspondent Peter Oliver reports from Berlin.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Yes, we found out on Saturday that it will be Olaf Scholz for the Social Democrats and it will be Alice Weidel for AFD.
00:08And we're also expecting to hear later on Saturday that it will be Friedrich Merz, who will be standing for the Conservative CDU-CSU Union.
00:15But it's just wrapped up here in Berlin, where I'm speaking to you from, at the Social Democratic Party conference.
00:21That's where Olaf Scholz was given the nod, the green light by delegates.
00:25They also approved the manifesto that has been put forward by Olaf Scholz's team.
00:30That's a manifesto that includes more borrowing. It includes a reform of the debt break that's called in Germany.
00:38That's written into the constitution. It means no government can borrow 0.35% of GDP per year.
00:45They can't borrow any more than that. Olaf Scholz wants to change that so that for particularly infrastructure projects,
00:51that more money could be borrowed and then subsequently spent.
00:54He also said that he wants to see tax breaks for lower and middle income earners.
00:59And without mentioning the United States by name, he did say that if he is returned as chancellor by the electorate,
01:05that he wouldn't be afraid to stand up to those who didn't follow European values, whether they were to the east or to the west.
01:13Heavily talking about Donald Trump's return to the White House there.
01:16Elsewhere, away in Saxony, where Alternative für Deutschland, the AfD, were holding their party conference.
01:22It was very different scenes than we've seen here in Berlin.
01:25It started late there because of protesters against AfD blocking the routes for delegates to be able to get in.
01:31We saw some fairly ugly scenes between protesters and police as they clashed.
01:35But ultimately, we did see Alice Weidel returned there as the candidate for chancellor for Alternative für Deutschland.
01:42Their party policy, very different to what we've heard from the Social Democrats,
01:46a lot more on limiting and decreasing migration and containing what the AfD are putting forward to voters.
01:52Olaf Scholz clearly wants to stay in office, doesn't he? Is that realistic? Can he do it?
01:57It's going to be a tough ask.
02:02Shortly before I came to talk to you, I was speaking to the German health minister, Karl Lauterbach, for a report we'll be putting on air on Sunday.
02:10I said, look, you're really quite far behind, aren't you?
02:13He said, as far as they're concerned, the campaign starts on Monday and they're hoping they can make up some ground.
02:18But the ground they're talking about making up, CDU, CSU, they're leading at 30% at the moment.
02:23Second is the far-right AfD. Then, way back on 16, it's the Social Democrats with the Greens on 15.
02:30It would be one heck of a comeback story if the Social Democrats were able to do it.
02:34They do seem fairly confident, but really we are looking at the Christian Social Union getting the first crack.
02:40It's setting up a government if the polls play out to be true when people go to the ballot.