Chancellor Olaf Scholz struggled to land the decisive blow he urgently needs on conservative frontrunner Friedrich Merz in the first of two televised debates ahead of Germany’s snap election in two weeks.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has described President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. could take ownership of the Gaza Strip, relocate its population and redevelop it as a “scandal.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his conservative rival Friedrich Merz faced off in a heated TV debate on Sunday, exactly two weeks before the country heads to the polls. Scholz attacked Merz - whose conservative CDU/CSU alliance is leading in the polls on around 30% ahead of the election on February 23 - over his decision last week to pass a motion on migration reform in parliament with votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Viewers surveyed on Sunday thought that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) narrowly won the TV debate against his rival Friedrich Merz from the conservative CDU. In a survey conducted by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen,

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday accused election rival Friedrich Merz of having broken his word by accepting support from the far-right AfD to push an anti-immigration motion through parliament.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday said his conservative rival Friedrich Merz's promises to rule out cooperation with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) can "no longer be trusted," just two weeks before Germany heads to the polls.