The vote was triggered by the departure of the Social Democrats' previous leader, Andrea Nahles, after the party's poor showing in European Parliament elections. In the first round of voting, which whittled down the pairs to two, only 53 percent of members took part. READ ALSO: Grundrente: Merkel's coalition reaches deal on Germany's pension reformBut Esken and Walter-Borjans have called for an end to Scholz's "zero new debt" policies and the current government's timidity on battling climate change. READ ALSO: SPD hopes to revamp itself as voting for new leaders beginsCut off from its "social roots", the party seems "too rarely an alternative" to Merkel's CDU, he told AFP. "The SPD cannot renew itself unless it is in opposition and has new people," said fellow political expert Klaus Schröder.

Source: The Local November 27, 2019 08:37 UTC