INTERVIEW Olaf Schultz: I want to live in an equal society

Schulz aspires to be the next chancellor of Germany.

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The SPD candidate for German chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he plans to create a stable government in Germany.

He added in an interview with the newspaper "Der Spiegel" that he intends to achieve equality in German society, and that respect plays an important role in the lives of Germans.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

■ What is the message behind the results of the German federal elections?

■■ It is quite clear, a new government has been elected, the Germans want a fresh start and a progressive government, they have made the SPD the most powerful party, and they want me to be the next chancellor.

■ You are now talking about a new beginning, but in your election campaign you presented yourself as the guarantor of the continuity of stability.. What do the Germans want, a new beginning or stability?

■■ People want progress, and the three parties known as the traffic light are the Social Democratic Party, the Green Party, and the Free Democratic Party, and they hold overlapping ideas about development.

The SPD's ideas of progress are about respect and industrial modernization, including the issue of climate change, which we will work to stop.

Climate change plays a prominent role in the Green Party's discourse on progress.

The FDP focuses on technical modernization and human rights.

I am optimistic that we will succeed in assembling the Traffic Light Coalition.

■ Angela Merkel was elected three times because voters felt she was spared the burdens of our time.. Are Germans afraid of change?

■■ During the election campaign I constantly talked about how to create security in changing times.

On what can people rely?

You have to understand why the people of the rich countries of the West are concerned.

■ You tell us why?

■■ Germans know that, unlike a few decades ago, there are a few countries with industrial capabilities similar to ours, and this creates a sense of uncertainty, which is precisely why populist right-wing parties are on the rise in affluent societies.

■ What do you consider a better future?

■■ Respect should play an important role in society, which is a concern for me.. How do we prevent society from disintegrating, how can every professional achievement and every life achievement be recognized equally?

A foreigner in rich countries is to find an answer to all these questions.

■ What is your answer?

■■ I would like to live in an egalitarian society, for all the different professions, lifestyles and places of residence, where no one in society looks down on the other.

Progressive parties are committed to the advancement of society, and they ensure that children from poor families can go to college, but know that the professional, the salesman in the store, the parcel-delivery worker, the nurse who takes care of the elderly are doing work that is just as important as the work of someone like me who studied law He practiced the legal profession.

■ During the election campaign, you presented yourself as the true heir of Angela Merkel.. What are the things you and her have in common?

■■ Merkel has a successful government record, and even if I am from the Social Democratic Party it is not difficult for me to admit it, I have been with her part of the coalition in three or four governments that Merkel has chaired.

Merkel and I know that you must persevere in politics, and that you must fight hard and hard for things that are important to you. In a federal country like Germany, in Europe and in the whole world you have to coordinate and agree with many.

■ Who will the Germans vote for.. for the Social Democratic Party or for Schulz?

■■ Germans can elect me directly from my constituency, but it is clear that I have been a SPD member for 17 years.

■ We asked you this question because your acceptance rate is much higher than that of your party.

■■ Which parties get 50% of the approval across the broad political spectrum?

And the Germans who sign up for the SPD want the policies I've been talking about in televised debates and in the city squares.

■ Will you be the next advisor after these negotiations are over?

■■ Yes definitely.

• Schulz plans to establish a stable government in Germany, with respect playing an important role in the lives of Germans.

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