German election frontrunners Merz and Scholz: Personal disdain and opposing political ideologies

In Germany, political parties are launching their campaigns for the election on February 23rd. The snap vote, called after the collapse of the governing coalition, has shown this is not business as usual for German politics. The opposition CDU's Friedrich Merz is maintaining a lead in the polls, while incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left Social Democrats are trailing behind. Both men want to be in charge of the next government, and they are making their differences clear. For more news go to: http://www.dw.com/en/ For more news, analysis and background information on the German election 2025 go to our dedicated page: https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-2025/t-70794502 Follow DW on social media: ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwnews ►TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dwnews ►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/ ►Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwnews Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: https://www.youtube.com/dwdeutsch Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/deutschewelleenglish?sub_confirmation=1