Germany’s Social Democrats pick new leaders
They threaten the stability of the government
“WALTER WHO? Saskia what?” Bild, a tabloid, posed the question many Germans will have asked on November 30th when members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) elected Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken as co-leaders. The obscure left-leaning duo triumphed by 53% to 45% over a rival pair led by Olaf Scholz, Germany’s finance minister and the SPD’s best-known politician. Their win instantly raised the prospect of an early end to Germany’s coalition, which has almost two years to run.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Under new management”
Europe December 7th 2019
- Germany’s Social Democrats pick new leaders
- NATO marks its 70th anniversary in typically chaotic fashion
- Pension anxiety drives France on strike and onto the streets
- Malta’s prime minister is ousted by a murdered journalist’s work
- China tries, and fails, to influence the Czechs
- The decline of the Five Star empire
From the December 7th 2019 edition
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