Pathways to the Chancellorship
The Making of Chancellor Scholz in Perspective
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Abstract
Olaf Scholz emerged as the Federal Republic's ninth chancellor from a context marked by several “firsts,” including in particular the absence of an incumbent chancellor seeking re-election and a competition between three chancellor candidates. While few, if any, individual elements of Scholz's profile were exceptional, the combination of elements was as unique as the wider political context. Echoing similar experiences from the Merkel years, the 2021 campaign and results suggest that in the German political context, advanced levels of personalization in the electoral arena are not dependent on any particular charisma of the competing lead candidates. In the end, Scholz, who managed to portray himself as a de facto incumbent seeking re-election, profited strongly from the perceived limitations and deficiencies of his contenders. A historical assessment of competitions for the chancellorship also reveals that the stakes for unsuccessful chancellor candidates have risen dramatically.
Contributor Notes
Ludger Helms is a Professor of Political Science and Chair of Comparative Politics at the University of Innsbruck. He has held Visiting Fellowships at, inter alia, Harvard University, uc Berkeley, and the London School of Economics and Political Science. His research focuses on comparative political institutions, contemporary political history, political elites, executive politics, and political oppositions. He is the author of some 150 scholarly publications in those fields. Currently, he is co-editing two special issues, on the comparative politics of Cabinet reshuffles (for Government and Opposition), and on women opposition leaders (for Politics and Governance).