Martin Schulz, the new face from the left to challenge Merkel

17-1-26-Schulz-1200 — Martin Schulz is more familiar with European than domestic politics

Martin Schulz, head of the European Parliament, is to stand as candidate for chancellor for the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) in Germany's elections this autumn, running against the incumbent Angela Merkel. "Running for chancellor will be a big change" for Schulz, says Guy Chazan in the FT.

He has "spent most of his life in European rather than domestic politics" and "is still relatively unknown inside Germany". Still, Germany "has had the same chancellor for 11 years and is hungry for new faces". He is also "one of the bloc's best-connected politicians" and "enjoys much higher approval ratings" than the current SPD leader, Sigmar Gabriel.

Schulz faces a "daunting job", says online magazine Politico. "The SPD is way behind in the polls." However, the SPD could try to outflank Merkel "on the left by building a Red-Red-Green' governing coalition with the Greens and the Left party". In any case, his diplomatic skills mean that even if "the SPD is condemned to another four years playing junior partner to Merkel's conservatives, Schulz's Brussels years show he can flourish in a grand coalition'".

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"Given his fanatical hatred for Brexiteers and all attempts by Britain to reform the EU, anyone hoping for a smooth Brexit should hope he ends up nowhere near power," says Asa Bennett in The Daily Telegraph. While Gabriel "talks calmly about Britain's departure from the EU", Schulz "likes to threaten the hardest Brexit possible' in revenge". As chancellor he would "drag Europe's largest economy further away from Britain", but even as Merkel's senior coalition partner he would "make sure she gives Britain a hefty kick on the way out".