Olaf Scholz meets the Chancellor on Wednesday morning.

He drives up to the Chancellery.

The building was Angela Merkel's government headquarters for 16 years.

The man who walks in is not only their third finance minister, but most likely the new tenant as well.

Merkel still leads the office, these days she is flying around the world to work and farewell meetings.

Peter Carstens

Political correspondent in Berlin

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There is also a hint of a change of power over the brief meeting with Scholz. The two politicians routinely prepare the cabinet meeting. Scholz had previously had breakfast with the SPD ministers and Merkel had spoken to the Union ministers. Everyday life in the expiring coalition. Next week they are going to the G-20 summit in Rome, where she is once again the world chancellor. As you can hear, the two of them have a very good relationship. Merkel's sparse campaign appearances have not changed that. It seemed embarrassing to her to say something negative about the SPD politician.

For his part, Scholz, first as labor minister and then as finance minister, was able to observe and study up close how Merkel works. Seldom has a politician been able to prepare himself more thoroughly for the office of Federal Chancellor than the Osnabrück-born Hanseatic. Scholz had expanded his ministry into a vice chancellery. With its insights and competencies across all departments, the house offers a wealth of power that is unparalleled among the ministries.

As Foreign Minister, Scholz recognized, one could perhaps become more popular.

But as finance minister you have an overview of all government projects - and a right of veto.

Scholz used it, for example against the defense minister.

In addition, the German finance minister is one of the ten most important politicians in Europe.

This was known at the latest since Scholz gave the green light for hundreds of billions of euros in construction aid in the Corona crisis.

In agreement with the Chancellor, of course.

Setbacks pave his way

The chancellor candidate has recently undertaken a small farewell tour himself, two days in Washington for the autumn meeting of the International Monetary Fund. It was a good opportunity to demonstrate which international league he has long been playing in, including fluent English. Participants report that it was a very relaxed journey, and Scholz was humorous and eloquent. That doesn't quite fit in with earlier accounts that described the SPD politician as a rather boring man. In addition, the ascription that it is a kind of speaking machine, the “Scholzomat”. That comes from the time when he had to defend Gerhard Schröder's agenda policy and he probably ran out of formulation options at some point.

At that time and for a long time afterwards, Scholz was one of the most unpopular politicians in the SPD. In autumn 2003, as Secretary General at the Bremen party congress, he received 52.58 percent of the vote, almost the worst possible result.

Others would have thrown it, Scholz accepted the election.

He was the lightning rod;

Schröder, the Hartz IV chancellor, got almost 81 percent as party chairman.

It was Scholz's bitterest, but by no means the last defeat.

One can say: setbacks pave the way.