Germany's Greens choose Habeck for chancellor race

Germany's Economy Minister Robert Habeck will try to replace Olaf Scholz as national leader in the upcoming federal election, as he won the Greens' nomination on Sunday to run for chancellor.

For the past three years, Habeck has been a prominent member — and vice-chancellor — in Scholz's three-party ruling coalition, which collapsed two weeks ago over spending and stimulus packages for the economy.

While the Greens have only been a junior partner in the coalition government, and the prospect of Habeck becoming the next national leader is remote, he said anything could happen in the Feb 23 poll.

"A lot can change on all fronts," he was quoted by Deutsche Welle as saying after winning support from 741 of the Greens' 768 lawmakers.

The father of four, who made his name as an author of children's books, said he wants to be seen as the Greens' "candidate for the people".

He served as Germany's minister for climate action and has overseen ambitious plans to decarbonize the heavily industrialized nation.

He has also been a strong supporter of Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and has backed Berlin in sending munitions to Kyiv.

The Greens are currently polling about 11 or 12 percent of the popular vote, but Habeck said he believes the party will do much better in February, following several months during which the coalition came unraveled and plummeted in popularity.

Habeck has said he will relish the chance to campaign ahead of February's election without having to justify decisions made by the Scholz-led coalition government.

"All the disputes, all the compromises that we had to make are now gone," he told DW. "And now the parties are stepping forward with their own ideas."

Scholz's Social Democratic Party, which is polling about 16 percent of the vote, is among the favorites to win in February, alongside front-runners the center-right Christian Democrats and the Alternative for Germany.

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