Nepaisant #SPD pralaimėjimo, Vokietijos „#Scholz“ tęs finansų ministrės pareigas

Scholz and his running mate lost a vote for leadership of the SPD on Saturday to two leftist critics of the party’s coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, putting Europe’s largest economy at a political crossroads.

The vote is the biggest defeat in Scholz’s political career and marks the end of his dream to become the SPD’s candidate to succeed Merkel as chancellor after the 2021 election.

Scholz is however ready to carry on in his current role, a senior government official told Reuters, adding that Scholz would represent Germany at a regular meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Wednesday (4 December) in Brussels.

Scholz, who is also vice chancellor, will return to Berlin for a meeting of senior SPD members on Thursday (5 December) to prepare for a crucial party conference starting on Friday (6 December), the official added.

The conference will decide on the future of Merkel’s coalition. Should delegates vote in favour of staying in power with Merkel’s conservatives, they could still limit Scholz’s room for manoeuvre.

If delegates back a petition calling for an end to the “black zero” budget policy of not incurring new debt, Scholz could be forced to reconsider his decision to stay as he is against new borrowing in times of growth.

Possible SPD candidates to succeed Scholz include his fiscally conservative deputy Bettina Hagedorn and centrist budget expert Carsten Schneider, party sources said.

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