German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday pleaded with lawmakers to avoid a political standstill ahead of early elections expected in February. Responding to questions in the Bundestag - Germany's lower house of parliament - Scholz called on opposition parties to support a number of important bills put forward by his minority government.

With less than three months to go until Germany's expected election, Chancellor Olaf Scholz came out swinging on Saturday, vowing to make his troubled Social Democrats (SPD) the strongest force in parliament.

Three months before elections, Germany's embattled Olaf Scholz kicked off the campaign Saturday by attacking his conservative rival as cold towards the poor but a hothead who would play "Russian roulette" with Moscow.

Germany's troubled Social Democratic Party (SPD) launched its general election campaign on Saturday, pledging to fight its way back to the top following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz' three-party coalition government earlier in November.