SDP

She dismissed its surge in the polls, saying she could remember when another insurgent party, the SDP, was "at 50% in the polls" in the 1980s, and insisted her party was concentrating on "doing the thinking" on policies that would improve lives.

Scholz's centre-left SDP and his Green partners wanted to ease Germany's strict debt rules to finance support for Ukraine and key infrastructure projects.

That leaves Scholz's SDP as a possible partner - even though Scholz is likely to be ousted from power after his stint in power saw his popularity plummet.

Other candidates who have also been targeted are Reform UK candidate Howard Cox and SDP's Amy Gallagher.

After Milanović scheduled the election and announced his surprise bid for prime minister, he began campaigning on behalf of the SDP.