He started politics at a very early age: Who is Olaf Scholz?

With the elections held in Germany on September 26, 2021, a new era has been entered. The 16-year term of Chancellor Angela Merkel ended with the federal elections. Merkel left her seat to Social Democratic Party (SPD) Finance Minister Olaf Scholz. Scholz, who was elected prime minister in the first round of voting held in the Bundestag on 8 December 2021, officially took office. So, who is Olaf Scholz, the 10th Chancellor of Germany after the Second World War?

Olaf Scholz (born 14 June 1958) is a German politician who has been serving as the chancellor of Germany since 8 December 2021. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor in the fourth Merkel cabinet and as Federal Minister of Finance from 2018 to 2021. He was also First Mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018, deputy leader of the SPD from 2009 to 2019, and Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs from 2007 to 2009.

He started politics at a very early age

Scholz was born on June 14, 1958, in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany. He spent his childhood in Hamburg, where he later settled with his family. He married SPD politician Britta Ernst in 1998. Interested in politics at a young age, Scholz became a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) at the age of 17. He worked for a while in Jusos, the youth organization of the party, and became the vice president of the organization in 1982-1988. While Scholz attracted a lot of attention with his harsh language in his first years in politics, he once described NATO as "aggressive and imperialist".

He held important positions in the party and the government

After completing his undergraduate education at Hamburg Law School, he started working in the field of labor law. After working as a lawyer for a while, he was elected as a member of the Bundestag in 1998. Between 2001-2019, he held various senior positions in the SPD. Scholz, who was the SPD General Secretary from 2002-2004, served as the party's vice chairman between 2009 and 2019. However, his political career was not limited to the SPD. Scholz served as Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in the government between 2007 and 2009. Scholz, who was the Prime Minister of the State of Hamburg from 2011-2018, has been the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance since 2018.

He preferred to stay in the background for a long time

Although the 65-year-old prime minister has held important positions in politics and government for many years, he did not come to the fore as a leader until 2019. Scholz was Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in the first Merkel government from 2007 to 2009. During this period, he made important efforts to protect employment in the country during the financial crisis that was effective in the world. On the other hand, his name has never been mentioned as often as Merkel's.

Praised in the fight against the epidemic

Scholz was praised for his very pragmatic and quick responses to financial issues related to the coronavirus epidemic that gripped the world. Scholz, who went to an emergency budget arrangement of 750 billion euros to compensate for the losses of private businesses and employees in the country, while ensuring social welfare despite the coronavirus epidemic, acted in harmony with the left ideas that his party remained loyal to. Scholz also initiated the establishment of the 750 billion euro coronavirus epidemic relief fund agreed with the French government to support European Union (EU) countries.

Criticized for being "conservative" in the party

The SPD was the governing coalition partner of Merkel's Christian Democrats Party (CDU) for most of the last decade in Germany. This led many SPD members to criticize both the coalition with the CDU and Scholz, who supported the government's policies. So much so that in 2019, when the SPD was in deep crisis, Scholz became a candidate for the co-chairmanship of the party with Klara Geywitz, but lost against Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans, who represent the left wing of the party.

Scholz was admired for his hard work within the SPD. In the polls held before the elections, he was chosen as "the most loved social democratic politician in the country". Because of this, the SPD leadership nominated Scholz as prime minister in 2020.

There were corruption allegations against him

During Scholz's term as the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister of the State of Hamburg, "Wirecard" and "Cum-Ex", which are described as the biggest financial scandals in the country, were mentioned in the corruption allegations. But even these two scandals didn't do much to damage Scholz's popularity with the public.