Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to run for a second term in the next federal election. "Of course I'm going," he told the Funke media group (Thursday edition) and the French newspaper "Ouest-France". "I want the governing coalition to be in such good shape that it gets the mandate again."

At the same time, Scholz drew a positive balance on the first anniversary of the traffic light coalition. He was "satisfied that we are fairly stable as a government in these turbulent times with many challenges," he said. "Our country will probably come through the winter well. We support Ukraine so that it can resist Russian aggression. And we have given renewable energies new impetus and initiated the modernization of our economy," said the Chancellor.

Scholz emphasized that this balance sheet was a joint effort by the three governing parties. When asked about the currently poor poll numbers, he said: "I am grateful for the level of support I have - and for the opportunity to gain even more support."