As Olaf Scholz unveiled his new government Wednesday and prepares to take office next month, one question for Germany and for the whole of Europe and the world is, can he deliver and fill Merkel's very big shoes?
Promotional images of Olaf Scholz on a screen at the headquarters of the Social Democrats in Berlin, Sept. 26, 2021. Germany’s next chancellor is something of an enigma. He comes to power with a dizzying array of challenges, raising questions about whether he can fill the very big shoes of his predecessor. (Laetitia Vancon/The New York Times)
BERLIN — Olaf Scholz succeeded in his campaign to become the next chancellor of Germany primarily by convincing voters that he would be very much like the towering and long-serving figure he will replace: Angela Merkel.
Terse, well-briefed and abstaining from any gesture of triumph, Scholz not only sounded like the outgoing conservative chancellor, he perfected the art of embodying her aura of stability and calm to the point of holding his hands together in her signature diamond shape.
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