Merkel distances herself from would-be successor Scholz

BERLIN — Germany's outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday distanced herself from Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, saying there was "a huge difference" between her and the centre-left candidate seeking to take her crown.

Less than a month before a September 26 general election, Merkel's CDU/CSU conservatives are slipping in opinion polls while Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) have unexpectedly taken the lead in a race still seen as wide open.

Germans do not directly elect their chancellor but surveys show Scholz would now be the favourite if they did, while the conservatives' pick, Armin Laschet, has fallen behind after a string of gaffes.

"With me as chancellor there would never be a coalition with the [far-left] Linke, and whether this can be said of Olaf Scholz or not remains open," Merkel told reporters in Berlin.

"So in that regard, there's simply a huge difference for the future of Germany between me and him."

Scholz, who is also the country's vice chancellor, is presenting himself as the stability candidate and the natural heir to Merkel's legacy despite hailing from a rival party.

He has even copied the famous "Merkel rhombus" hand gesture, pressing his thumbs and fingers into a diamond shape the same way the chancellor does.

Surveys suggest the September ballot could result in a three-way coalition government.

While the popular Green Party would be a logical partner in a possible SPD-led coalition, Scholz has come under fire for not explicitly ruling out a tie-up with the far-left Die Linke party, which opposes the NATO military alliance.

Conservative politicians have accused Scholz of riding on Merkel's coat-tails.

Bavarian premier Markus Soeder from the CSU Party welcomed Merkel's pushback on Tuesday, saying she could not have been clearer.

"Everyone knows that Olaf Scholz wants to move to the left," Soeder said.

Merkel herself is bowing out of politics after 16 years as chancellor.