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Trump's return to White House may benefit Scholz in election — media

It will be a turning point that could change the electoral landscape and give German chancellor the image of a defender of democracy, Bloomberg says

NEW YORK, January 12. /TASS/. US President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House may boost the re-election prospects of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and hinder the election of Friedrich Merz, candidate for the German chancellor from the alliance of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), Bloomberg says.

According to the agency, Merz's advisers are anxiously awaiting Trump's inauguration on January 20, believing it will be a turning point that could change the electoral landscape and give Scholz the image of a defender of democracy. On Saturday, at the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) federal congress in Berlin, Scholz managed to brand himself "as a defender of democratic values against the American’s rhetoric," according to Bloomberg. Commenting on Trump's claim to Greenland, Scholz stated that, according to Western values, "the principle of inviolability of borders applies to every country" and "no country is the backyard of another."

Meanwhile, both the SPD and CDU are concerned about the growing popularity of the Alternative for Germany (AfG) party and its co-chair, Alice Weidel. Reportedly, this surge in popularity is partly due to the support shown to the AfG by US entrepreneur Elon Musk. His online discussion with Weidel on X, held on Thursday, received significant media attention and overshadowed the CDU's agenda, sources close to Merz told the agency.

In late December, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, following a vote of no confidence in the chancellor in the Bundestag, decided to dissolve the parliament and scheduled early elections for February 23, 2025.