Written by Anaisa Arora, a grade 9 student.

On 8 December 2021, Olaf Scholz was appointed as Germany’s new Chancellor, concluding Angela Merkel’s four years at the helm of Europe’s largest economy.

This consequence comes after months of negotiations and will culminate in a change of face at the leadership of Germany, with Angela Merkel stepping down after nearly 16 years.

Who exactly is Olaf Scholz ?

• Olaf Schloz is a member of the German Social Democratic Party, which was established in 1845, approximately 146 years ago!
• He commenced his political career at the age of 17 when he joined the Jusos, the SPD’s youth wing.
• Olaf Schloz served as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in Germany under Angela Merkel from 2007 to 2009, He was also Mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018.
• Since 2018, he has served as Vice Chancellor and Minister of Finance under Angela Markel’s administration.
• He was a prominent player in Germany’s response to the Covid-19 crisis.
• His automatic and mechanical seeming vocabulary selection and manner of speaking has garnered him the moniker ‘Scholzomat.’

Mr. Scholz, who received 395 of the 707 votes cast in the lower chamber of the Bundestag, has vowed extensive “continuity” with Ms. Merkel while attempting to make Germany brighter and equitable.

When questioned if he accepted the election by parliament speaker Baerbel Bas, a delighted Mr. Scholz removed his black corona mask to answer “yes,” and then received bouquets of flowers from MPs. Delegates congratulated Scholz with fist bumps, handshakes, and bouquets amid applause.

One even presented him with a basket full of red apples. I can just visualise.”Hey, you’re now the chancellor of Germany, here’s a basket of apples to celebrate!” On Wednesday, Merkel will formally transfer her offices at the Chancellery in downtown Berlin to Scholz and his colleagues. Scholz is just the third chancellor to rule from the cuboid edifice opposite the parliament, dubbed the “federal washing machine,” which has been the seat of German leaders since 2001.

What challenges will Scholz be facing ?

Olaf Scholz had pledged to do everything he could to enable Germany to turn over a new leaf. Scholz remarked on Tuesday that the new government, which pits Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) against the government for the first time since 2005-“takes up the major challenges of this decade and well beyond that”.

If he succeeds, he said “that is a mandate to be re-elected together at the next election”. Germany’s new leader is scheduled to go overseas for the first time on Friday, when he will also participate via video connection in the “summit for democracy” organised by US Vice President Joe Biden. Scholz announced during the election campaign in September that he would emulate Merkel’s lead and make his first trip overseas to Paris. Scholz’s government is focused on renewable energy in order to modernise Germany and combat the threat of climate change. The government’s first objective will be to tackle the covid crisis.

Headline Image Attribution: By Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=110513040

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