Merkel's Challenger Rules Out Trump-Style Campaign in Germany
- SPD’s Schulz wins 100% party backing; 6-month campaign ahead
- Berlin convention gives boost to his chancellorship ambitions
This article is for subscribers only.
Angela Merkel’s Social Democratic challenger said he’ll shun campaign tactics associated with U.S. President Donald Trump and defend a fragile Europe as he won his party’s backing to take on the German chancellor in September elections.
Martin Schulz, a former European Parliament president, made the pledges in a speech before Social Democratic delegates in Berlin elected him party head with a record tally of 100 percent, followed by a show of hands backing his candidacy. The convention on Sunday, punctuated by cheers and standing ovations, sends Schulz onto the campaign trail with early momentum that’s lifted his party into a statistical tie with Merkel’s Christian Democrat-led bloc in national polls.