Who is Olaf Scholz, the man who replaces Angela Merkel as chancellor of Germany

(CNN) – Olaf Scholz has some great shoes to fill.

Germany’s finance minister is now the new chancellor of the European country after the Social Democratic Party (SPD), its political force, won a narrow victory in the September parliamentary elections.

Olaf Scholz, a “pragmatic and calm” politician

Scholz has positioned himself as a pragmatic politician with the ability to take on great responsibilities. In fact, their political style does not differ from that of Angela Merkel: the two are alike in many ways, despite belonging to rival parties.

“He presents himself as a calm, measured and firm man,” said Corinna Hoerst, a member of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) in Brussels.

Hoerst said that, as a moderate, Scholz is an exception within his party. “The leaders of the SPD are mostly left-leaning and did not support him at first. So we still don’t know who he will gather around him and who will influence his leadership style,” he added.

Hoerst’s colleague and deputy director of the GMF Berlin office, Sudha David-Wilp, said this centrism is another trait that Scholz shares with Merkel.

“She always governed from the center and I think he will also try to do so if he becomes chancellor, but it will also depend, of course, on what the coalition parties ask for,” he said.

Long history of collaboration with Angela Merkel

The 63-year-old man – a lifelong member of the SPD – was born in what was then West Germany, a detail that sets him apart from Merkel, who grew up in East Germany.

Scholz was Minister for Labor and Social Affairs in Merkel’s first coalition government in the late 2000s. In 2011, he was elected Mayor of Hamburg, a position he held – with high levels of support – until 2018.

Since then, he has been vice chancellor and finance minister in Merkel’s grand coalition government, a position of power in German national politics.

His profile was raised even higher when he oversaw Germany’s generous coronavirus compensation programs for companies, employees, and those who lost income from being quarantined during the pandemic.

“It was the right hand [de Merkel] when it comes to running the country for the last four years … it has been Merkel’s second, but she has enormous power within the German government, and also in Europe [donde] represents Germany when it comes to euro policies, “said David-Wilp.

Little known outside of Germany

Unlike Merkel, who has become a household name throughout the world during her long tenure, Scholz is not well known abroad, beyond Brussels political circles.

He has said that building a stronger and more sovereign European Union, as well as working on the good relationship between Germany and the United States, would be his key foreign policy goals if he becomes chancellor.

Also that as the world “becomes more dangerous”, democratic countries must cooperate. “It is important that we work together, even if we have conflicts on one issue or another,” he said.

Scholz has also had his share of political troubles in the past.

Scholz, former mayor of Hamburg

As mayor of Hamburg, he was criticized for his mismanagement of the violent protests that unfolded during a G20 meeting his city hosted in 2017.

Hamburg was thrown into chaos during the summit and hundreds of policemen were injured in clashes with protesters. Scholz had underestimated the potential risk of the protests, blaming him for the city’s lack of preparation.

With input from Frederik Pleitgen, Sugam Pokharel, Jennifer Deaton, and Helen Regan.