What is the biggest disaster for you?
War.
Where do you want to live?
As Chancellor further in Potsdam.
I like cities on the water.
What is perfect earthly happiness for you?
Although I'm not an early riser: rowing at 7 o'clock in the morning.
Which mistakes are you most likely to excuse?
If we learn from mistakes, most are excusable.
Your favorite novel heroes?
The anti-heroes.
Your favorite heroines in real life?
My wife.
Your favorite poetry heroines?
My first heroine was "The Red Zora" from the youth book of the same name.
Your favorite painter?
I hung a picture by the painter Eduard Bargheer in the Hamburg city hall.
Your favorite composer?
For many three: Gustav Mahler, Udo Lindenberg, Miles Davis
What qualities do you value most in a man?
Self-reflection and self-assessment.
What qualities do you value most in a woman?
Self-assessment and self-reflection.
Your favorite virtue?
Respect.
What is your favorite thing to do?
Working for the common good.
Who or what would you have liked to be?
I was very happy to be an employee advocate; today I am very much a politician.
Your main character trait?
I don't need a lot of words.
What do you value most in your friends?
Trust and reliability.
Your biggest mistake?
In private terms, that I only found out when I was 40 that I enjoyed exercise.
Your dream of happiness?
I am a happy person.
What would be the greatest misfortune for you?
See question 1.
What do you want to be?
Well, Chancellor - one for all.
Your favorite writer?
So many, a selection from different reading periods: Thomas Mann and Heinrich Mann, Siegfried Lenz, Günter Grass, James Baldwin, Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriel Garcia Márquez, Daniel Kehlmann, Bernhard Schlink, Elfriede Jelinek, Olga Grjasnowa, Juli Zeh, Masha Gessen, Saša Stanišić, Teju Cole, Paul Auster, Bruce Chatwin ...
Your favorite lyricist?
Heinrich Heine.
Your heroes in reality?
The cashier, the geriatric nurse, the parcel delivery woman.
Your heroines in the story?
Marie Juchacz, Elisabeth Selbert and many more.
What do you despise the most?
Injustice.
That's why I joined the SPD when I was 17, that's why I'm a lawyer for employees.
Which historical figures do you despise most?
Nazis.
Which military accomplishments do you admire most?
I have great respect for the performance of our soldiers in peace missions.
Which reform do you admire most?
Any reform that is long overdue and resolutely addressed.
The most recent example is global minimum taxation - no one previously thought we could do that - now it is coming.
What natural gift would you like to have?
I often get up early and envy born early risers.
How would you like to die?
Peaceful, in old age.
What is your current state of mind?
Confident and combative.
Your motto?
Tackle.
Olaf Scholz
is the SPD's candidate for Chancellor for the Bundestag election on September 26th. Born in Osnabrück, he was First Mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018 and has been Federal Minister of Finance since 2017.