Germany's SPD launch election campaign

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz launched the Social Democratic Party, or SPD, election campaign on the weekend, telling party members that February's general election would be crucial for the country's future while also accusing former coalition allies of sabotage.

At a conference event at the SPD's Berlin headquarters, Scholz and party leader Lars Klingbeil both expressed confidence they could reverse the party's declining poll numbers, reported the Deutsche Welle news network.

"There is a hell of a lot at stake," said Scholz, who was last week selected as the SPD's candidate for chancellor in the upcoming election.

"We are facing a fundamental decision for our country, one way or the other," he told those in attendance. "Now it's about everything. If we take a wrong turn in Germany now, in this situation, it will have serious consequences."

Klingbeil promised the party could turn things around during what promises to be a tense race to the early parliamentary elections, expected to be held on Feb 23.

"The Social Democrats are standing together, but above all, the Social Democrats are highly motivated for this election campaign," he said.

"85 days, it's going to be a tough ride. It will challenge us," Klingbeil added.

"If there's one thing the SPD can do, it's fight: we're a party for catching up, and we're going to show that over the next 85 days."

Recent polling showed Scholz was gaining ground on his Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, rival Friedrich Merz in personal approval ratings.

In a survey released Saturday by the Insa polling institute for the Bild newspaper, 22 percent of respondents said they would support Scholz as chancellor.

Scholz's support rose by 7 percent from the previous week, though still trailing Merz, who is on 30 percent. The Greens' Robert Habeck saw a slight decline, polling at 16 percent.

Germany's three-way coalition government collapsed last month when Scholz dismissed Free Democrats leader Christian Lindner from his finance minister post, following prolonged disputes over the 2025 budget.

As a consequence of the dismissal, the FDP withdrew from the coalition and left Scholz leading a minority government with only the Greens as partners.

In his speech, Scholz accused Lindner and the FDP of deliberately undermining the government's work over several months.

"They wanted to actively prevent this federal government from being successful," said Scholz. "Something like that must never happen again in Germany."

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