"So.....now we are under four eyes, as you requested. Bit of a conspiracy, isn't it?"
"Call it what you want, Heiko, but we need to talk in order to prevent damage to the party. And to the country."
"Quite heroic words coming from the great pragmatist of the North!"
"Don't be funny, Herr Justizminister! I am certain you know what I am talking about. Here are my numbers, and I would be surprised if they don't match those of your people."
Olaf Scholz tossed three paperclipped sheets of paper over to Heiko Mass. The latter read aloud:
Prognose zur Urwahl eines Kanzlerkandidaten der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Deutschlands.
Heiko Mass 26%, Andrea Nahles 41%, Olaf Scholz 33%
Maas looked up, setting his glasses straight. "Yes, this is the current picture."
"Current..." Olaf Scholz let out a dark, gasping laugh. "Eight days before the vote. This is not just current, this is where this race leads to. You know what it means?"
"Well, Olaf, demoscopes say that Andrea is the members' favourite pick."
Olaf waited for more to come, but his opponent also just waited for a reaction.
".....and, despite your glasses, you cannot see beyond that?"
"I guess I can, but I also guess that there are some hidden depth in these numbers you want to tell me about."
Scholz sighed. "It plainly means none of us will become Kanzler."
"That leaves the damage to the party and to the country limited, though I am not a fan of Andrea, nor of her style."
"Flip to page three."
Mass gazed at a pie-graph. "You guys made that up. It wouldn't be that bad....and I actually thought Kanzlerin Nahles would at least bring voters back from the DFK."
"Heiko, on the contrary. The leftists will not leave their brand-new boat, and the center will run to the Schwarzen. Andrea's Kanzlerschaft would not even last a year. We'd be struck with von der Leyen afterwards. Or whoever they come up with. They'll run us out of the Bundestag as they beat us in Düsseldorf and Kiel. I am not amused concerning that prospect. This is what happens when you allow the Basis to make choices."
"But you didn't come for futurology...."
Olaf Scholz paused. "No. I ask you to concede as soon as possible and turn it into a two-way-race." He offered another sheet of paper.
Andrea Nahles 47%, Olaf Scholz 53%
"Oh, Olaf....these numbers look favourable to you. And I assume in your mind also to the party and to the country."
The mayor of Hamburg nodded.
"However, Olaf..." Maas picked up a tablet and opened a PDF-file. "I also don't make up these numbers."
Heiko Maas 56%, Andrea Nahles 44%
"And just like you, I am certain that I could keep the government in our hands later in the year!"
Scholz stared at the younger politician who continued. "So, I ask you, Genosse, that you will be so friendly as to declare tomorrow that you need to concentrate on your work in Hamburg. Because I assure you, that I will remain in the fight, whichever numbers you present to me. It is up to you to decide, who you rather see as chairman of the party. Andrea or me...."