BERLIN (AP) - Germany's Social Democrats have chosen deputy leader and Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz as the new interim head of the party until a permanent chairman can be elected in April.

The move follows leader Martin Schulz's announcement Tuesday that he was stepping down from the position with hopes of putting an end to turmoil at the top of the center-left party.

The party leadership also nominated parliamentary caucus leader Andrea Nahles as its candidate for Schulz's permanent replacement, to stand in a vote at a special party congress on April 22. Scholz is also supporting Nahles.

The Social Democrats' leadership issue has been a major distraction ahead of a party vote to approve a new coalition government agreement with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc. </s> BERLIN (AP) — Germany's Social Democrats name Olaf Scholz, party deputy and Hamburg mayor, to be interim leader.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Martin Schulz has quit as chairman of Germany's Social Democrats with immediate effect, saying it is time for a "renewal" of the centre-left party.

The move came after he on Friday abandoned his plan to become the country's foreign minister in a new coalition government with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, following pressure from within the party.

He told reporters the party's leadership had unanimously nominated his choice for a successor, parliamentary caucus leader Andrea Nahles.

She will have to be approved by a party congress on April 22, he said.

The turmoil at the top of the Social Democrats has been a major distraction as its leaders have been lobbying for the party to approve the new coalition agreement with Mrs Merkel's conservative bloc.

It is being put to a ballot of the Social Democrats' 460,000 members.

If members reject the coalition, Mrs Merkel's only realistic options would be to form a minority government or seek fresh elections.

Mr Schulz said the coalition agreement was "70%" Social Democratic policy and urged party members to bring "the personnel debate to an end" with his resignation and concentrate on passing the deal.

"This is a good agreement," he said.

The party chose deputy leader and Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz as the new interim head until a permanent chairman is elected in April.

Mr Scholz will support Ms Nahles at the party congress. </s> German Social Democratic leader (SPD) Martin Schulz resigned on Tuesday, hoping to end turbulence that has rocked the centre-left party since it agreed a coalition deal with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives.

Schulz’s deputy Olaf Scholz – the Hamburg mayor who is slated to become finance minister in the new government – said he would become caretaker SPD chairman, and the party confirmed that it had recommended parliamentary floor leader Andrea Nahles as Schulz’s longer-term successor.

Amid deep rank-and-file divisions over the coalition deal and the distribution of ministerial posts, and facing a slump in opinion polls, SPD leaders are trying to convince 464,000 party members to endorse the accord with Merkel in a ballot on which her fourth term depends.

With many SPD members harbouring misgivings about sharing power with Merkel again, the result of the vote, due on March 4, is wide open. If members reject the coalition pact, a new German election looks the most likely option.

Schulz said an extraordinary party congress would be held in the western city of Wiesbaden on April 22 to pick a new leader.

Nahles, a plain-speaking 47-year-old former labour minister with a left-wing slant and strong oratory skills, is the frontrunner and would become the first female leader in the party’s 154-year history.

“With his decision to resign today, (Schulz) paved the way for a new beginning,” Nahles said.

Schulz said last week he would quit to allow the party to regroup and he recommended Nahles as leader. But expectations that she would take over with immediate effect on a caretaker basis until a party conference triggered resistance as it breached party procedure.

On Tuesday, Schulz said he hoped his decision to resign would result in party members focusing on the coalition treaty rather than personnel issues.

He said he hoped the party could “regain its former strength” under Nahles’ leadership and as part of the German government – if members agreed to that in the upcoming ballot.

“If I can contribute to that by resigning, it will have been worth it,” he said outside the SPD headquarters.

Two sources in the SPD leadership said the party decided not to make Nahles a caretaker leader because it did not want to pre-empt a vote at the party congress and so possibly influence the members’ vote on a coalition with Merkel.

YES OR NO?

Kevin Kuehnert, who leads the SPD’s youth wing and is campaigning for members to vote against another tie-up with Merkel, welcomed the decision as he said it would enable the party to focus completely on the members’ coalition ballot.

Nahles said she would start campaigning at the weekend for members to vote “yes” to a coalition with Merkel, who has led the European Union’s most populous country and economic powerhouse since 2005.

In a cartoon on Tuesday, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily showed Nahles with a whip riding an SPD snail.

Schulz, 62, ditched plans to take the post of foreign minister after fierce criticism from some former allies, not least because he had pledged not to serve in a cabinet with Merkel.

That leaves open who from within the SPD may take up that post. Media have speculated that one option might be Katarina Barley, a former SPD general secretary and family minister, or SPD veteran Thomas Oppermann.

Germany has been without a formal government since the Sept. 24 election and investors are worried about a delay in policymaking, both at home and in the EU.

The turmoil in the SPD can only distract from criticism of Merkel from within her own party after she handed the foreign and finance ministries to the SPD to secure the coalition deal.

An INSA poll published on Tuesday showed the SPD at a record low of 16.5 percent, only 1.5 percentage points ahead of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Merkel’s conservative bloc was also down 1 point at 29.5 percent.

Under Schulz, a former European Parliament president who became SPD leader just over a year ago, the party garnered 20.5 percent in September’s election, its worst result in the post-war era.

The SPD originally wanted to reinvent itself in opposition but reconsidered when Merkel’s attempt to form an alliance with two smaller parties failed late last year.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App </s> BERLIN: German Social Democrat leader (SPD) Martin Schulz stepped down with immediate effect on Tuesday, hoping to put an end to the turbulence that has rocked the centre-left party since it agreed a coalition deal with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.

Schulz's deputy Olaf Scholz - the Hamburg mayor who is slated to become finance minister in the new government - said he would become caretaker SPD leader, and the party confirmed that it had recommended parliamentary floor leader Andrea Nahles as Schulz's longer-term successor.

Deeply divided over the coalition deal and the distribution of ministerial posts, and facing a slump in opinion polls, SPD leaders are trying to convince 464,000 party members to back the accord with Merkel in a ballot on which her fourth term depends.

With many SPD rank-and-file members harbouring misgivings about sharing power with Merkel again, the result of the vote, due on March 4, is wide open. If members reject the coalition deal, a new German election looks the most likely option.

Schulz said an extraordinary party congress would be held in the western city of Wiesbaden on April 22 to pick the SPD's new leader.

Nahles, a plain-speaking 47-year-old former labour minister with a left-wing slant and strong oratory skills, is frontrunner and would become the first female leader in the party's 154-year history.

Schulz said last week he would quit to allow the party to regroup and he recommended Nahles as leader but expectations that she would take over with immediate effect on a caretaker basis until a party conference triggered resistance as it breaches party procedure.

In a cartoon on Tuesday, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily showed Nahles with a whip riding an SPD snail.

Schulz ditched plans to take the post of foreign minister after fierce criticism from some former allies, not least because he had vowed not to serve in a cabinet with Merkel.

That leaves open who from within the SPD may take up that post. Media have speculated that one option might be Katarina Barley, a former SPD general secretary and family minister, or SPD veteran Thomas Oppermann.

Germany, Europe's biggest economy, has been without a formal government since the Sept. 24 election and investors are worried about a delay in policymaking, both at home and in Europe.

The turmoil in the SPD can only distract from criticism of Merkel from within her own party after she handed the foreign and finance ministries to the SPD to secure the coalition deal.

An INSA poll published on Tuesday showed the SPD at a record low of 16.5 percent, only 1.5 percentage points ahead of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Merkel's conservative bloc was also down 1 point at 29.5 percent. </s> German Social Democratic Party leader Martin Schulz announced Tuesday he would quit as chairman of the political group, but because of party infighting his designated successor Andrea Nahles must wait to take the reins.

"The SPD needs renewal in its organisation, in its personnel, and in its programme," Schulz said as he announced his departure.

Schulz’s resignation was expected after he abandoned plans on Friday to take the post of foreign minister in a renewed coalition government with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives. Party members were outraged by his stated ambition for the role, despite his having previously vowed never to serve in a cabinet led by Merkel.

Nahles is facing similar opposition in her path to leadership.

Disgruntled party members say that she was chosen in an elitist backroom deal rather than through an open party vote.

Steve Hudson, a member of the party's #NoGroKo group (which stands for ‘no grand coalition’), stated that the leadership's single candidate proposal evoked North Korean politics. He added that the party "doesn't belong to a small group of top functionaries in Berlin who can do what they want".

The SPD leadership crisis comes only a week before 460,000 party members vote on the coalition deal with Merkel’s conservative bloc. Schulz urged voters to bring "the personnel debate to an end" with his resignation and concentrate on passing the deal.

In the meantime, deputy leader and Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz has been chosen as the interim head of the party.

If she is elected at a special party congress on April 22, Nahles would become the first woman to lead the 153-year-old party.

"I would dearly like to take up the responsibility that I've been offered" in service to party and country, Nahles later told journalists.

The 47-year-old former labour minister is known for her blunt and passionate manner, including a fiery speech at a special party conference in January that was credited with swinging support towards a coalition agreement. But it has got her into trouble in the past, and she has faced criticism for her gutter politics.

Challenging Nahles for the top job will be last-minute candidate Simone Lange, the 41-year-old mayor of northern city Flensburg.

Germany's second-biggest party has been torn by bitter infighting and is deeply demoralised since it scored its worst post-war election result of 20.5 percent last September.

Its left and youth wings and some regional chapters are in open revolt against SPD plans to again govern as junior partner to Merkel.

With Schulz’s political career in tatters, Nahles looks set to claim the poisoned chalice of reviving the spirit and electoral prospects of the party.

A poll in Bild daily said support for the SPD had sunk to a record low of 16.5 percent, only 1.5 percentage points ahead of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Nahles’ election would mean that, along with Merkel, women will head both of Germany's two big mainstream parties a move hailed by Mona Kueppers, who heads the National Council of German Women's Organisations.

"Within the SPD, too, the time is ripe for a female leader," Kueppers told AFP. "The fact that the party has competent women for the job has been well known for a long time."

The upcoming vote on the coalition deal represents the final step before Merkel can serve a fourth term.

If members reject the coalition, Merkel's only realistic options would be to form a minority government or seek fresh elections. </s> Following the resignation of the leader of the German Social Democratic Party, Andrea Nahles, after barely 13 months in office, a trio formed by two heads of government and a president of the regional party will take on the interim presidency of the party.

The resignation was a setback for the Christian Democrats, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who governs in coalition with the SPD as a junior partner. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Martin Schulz said his resignation could help the SPD renew itself

The head of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), Martin Schulz, has resigned to ease preparations for a coalition government with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.

Mr Schulz said he was handing over to a left-winger, Andrea Nahles, with immediate effect. However, SPD members have to vote on the change on 22 April.

SPD sources say Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz will be interim leader.

Martin Schulz stepped down saying he wanted to end SPD "personnel debates".

The SPD has agreed on a blueprint for coalition government with Ms Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and her Bavarian CSU allies.

SPD members will vote on the coalition deal next month - the result is expected on 4 March.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Andrea Nahles is a former labour minister who once headed the SPD youth wing

The centre-left SPD is on course to run six ministries, including finance and foreign affairs.

Mr Schulz, formerly European Parliament president, has said he will not serve as foreign minister. He has faced strong criticism inside the SPD.

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There has been more than four months of coalition negotiations - a German post-war record - since inconclusive elections in September.

A breakthrough was finally announced last week, with major concessions given to the SPD.

Many in the SPD fear that re-entering a coalition with the CDU/CSU could damage the party in the long term.

The SPD and CDU both had their worst results for decades in the election, which catapulted the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) into parliament for the first time, with 94 seats. </s> German Social Democrat leader (SPD) Martin Schulz stepped down with immediate effect on Tuesday and said the party's committee had backed parliamentary floor leader Andrea Nahles as his successor.

BERLIN: German Social Democrat leader (SPD) Martin Schulz stepped down with immediate effect on Tuesday and said the party's committee had backed parliamentary floor leader Andrea Nahles as his successor.

Nahles still needs to be formally nominated by the party executive, which is meeting on Tuesday evening. A vote will then take place at an extraordinary party congress on April 22.

The move comes ahead of a ballot of the SPD's 464,000 members, who get the chance to veto a coalition deal agreed last week with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.

The SPD is split over the coalition deal and the division of ministerial posts. Schulz said after the deal was announced that he would step down following the members' vote - the results of which are due to be announced on March 4 - to take the job of foreign minister, but later dropped that plan amid controversy.
Martin Schulz resigns as leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) with immediate effect. The mayor of Hamburg Olaf Scholz will serve as interim leader until a new leader is elected.