Scholz will take over as Germany’s leader when the Merkel era comes to an end.

On Wednesday, Germany’s parliament will formally elect Olaf Scholz as the country’s next chancellor, ending Angela Merkel’s 16-year rule and ushering in a new political period led by the center-left.

Scholz led his Social Democrats to victory in a historic election in September against Merkel’s conservative CDU-CSU party, as the veteran chancellor prepared to exit politics after four consecutive terms.

Scholz’s SPD formed a coalition with the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats in significantly less time than predicted, aiming to make Germany greener and fairer.

“I want the 20s to be a time of new beginnings,” Scholz told the monthly Die Zeit, expressing his desire to push forward “the largest industrial modernisation capable of reversing climate change caused by humans.”

The return of the center-left to power in Europe’s largest economy may tip the scales on a continent still suffering from Brexit, and with France, the other key nation, holding presidential elections in 2022.

Scholz’s “traffic-light” coalition, dubbed after the three parties’ colours, had already received a baptism of fire in the shape of a furious fourth wave of the coronavirus epidemic.