Schulz nominated to lead Social Democratic Party in federal elections

In a wide-ranging acceptance speech to members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) after his nomination as Chancellor candidate, former President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz also spoke about environment and climate protection. Schulz said global climate agreements should not be the only focus, but also that sustainable agriculture at local level must be taken more seriously. "Protecting the environment is the central job of our generation. We cannot leave a poisoned legacy for our children and grandchildren," he said. The SPD currently governs in a "grand coalition" with Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In an Reuters article about the speech, Holger Hansen and Andreas Shalal write that "the SPD wants to form a coalition with smaller parties on the left, but most analysts still think another right-left coalition is the most likely outcome of September's election."
The centre-left SPD in a surprise move on Tuesday had announced it would nominate Schulz to replace current party leader Sigmar Gabriel.

Find the Reuters article in English here and Schulz’s speech in German here.

For election background read the CLEW dossier Vote2017 - German elections and the Energiewende.