Germany's SPD names Scholz as chancellor candidate for snap election

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been nominated as his ruling party's lead candidate for the snap election in late February next year. Executives of the center-left Social Democratic party, or SPD, named Scholz as its chancellor candidate in a meeting on Monday.

The snap election was called after Scholz's ruling coalition collapsed in early November, due mainly to differences within the coalition over fiscal policy. An SPD official said party executives convincingly voted for Scholz, since he steered the country through difficult crises.