Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Scholz won a secret vote in parliament as expected, the culmination of months of negotiations following the SPD’s narrow victory in the September federal elections.
Following formal protocol, Scholz will meet with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who named him as the new chancellor, a role he will take officially after being sworn in in parliament later on Wednesday.
The 63-year-old life member of the SPD served as Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in Merkel’s first coalition government in the late 2000s. In 2011 he was elected mayor of Hamburg, a position he held – with a high level of support – until 2018.
Since then, he has served as chancellor and minister of finance in Merkel’s coalition government, a powerful position in German national politics.
His political style is no different from that of his former boss – despite being from rival parties, the two are similar in many ways.
“Scholz partly attributes his success to it” [in the election] to present as [Merkel’s] “The worthy successor during the campaign, calm and bold – and turned into a Merkel-style rhombus in a photograph with his hands,” Holger Schmeiding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, wrote in an analyst note on Wednesday. The imitation is probably the best compliment he could have given her. Despite some ups and downs during her long reign, Merkel stepped down as the country’s most popular politician with 69% approval.
Merkel, who watched parliamentary proceedings from the visitors gallery with former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, received applause from lawmakers when she was name-checked by Parliamentary Speaker Barbel Bass.
After leading Germany for 16 years and 16 days, Merkel missed out on becoming the longest-serving chancellor after the war, only 10 days behind Helmut Kohl.
Scholz has big shoes to fill. He is also taking office at a time of growing diplomatic uncertainty in the EU – including provocations from Russia and Belarus and threats to the rule of law from Poland and Hungary. Unlike Merkel, she is not famous abroad.
CNN’s Stephanie Halaz and Sheena Mackenzie contributed reporting.
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