Merkel rival pulls out

berlin - SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel and vice chancellor will be German foreign minister, succeeding Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Which is on behalf of the ruling coalition candidate for the German presidency. The election is on 12 February.

Gabriel has since seen to stand on behalf of the Socialist Party candidate for chancellor. He leaves the battle with Angela Merkel (CDU) about the recently resigned MEP Martin Schulz, a newcomer to national politics with potentially better odds on September 24 than Gabriel. It is now Minister of Economic Affairs. His current Minister Brigitte Zypries, if the Bundestag Group agreement Wednesday with it, will be nominated to take over that function.