Martin Schulz nominated to challenge Merkel for German chancellorship

Former European Parliament president Martin Schulz has been nominated by Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) as the party's candidate for the chancellery in the coming national elections scheduled for September, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported on Sunday.


SPD, or Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, is a major partner of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition. The center-left party made the decision at a conclave in Berlin on Sunday, a few days after Sigmar Gabriel resigned from party chairman to become German foreign minister. 

The decision will be formalized at a special party conference to be held on March 19 when Shultz, 61, is expected to be officially elected to be SPD chairman, DPA reported quoting sources.
 [Xinhua/China]
29/1/17
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