Angela Merkel on alert after European Parliament president Martin Schulz quits to run for office in Germany
The veteran Eurocrat confirmed he would campaign for a seat in Germany's federal parliament next year
ANGELA Merkel will be on alert after the European Parliament’s President revealed he is returning to German politics, sparking speculation he will challenge her to be Chancellor.
The veteran Eurocrat Martin Schulz confirmed he would campaign for a seat in the country's federal parliament next year.
He told a news conference he would not stand for re-election as speaker of the EU legislature in Strasbourg.
But the 60-year-old made no comment on rumours he may succeed departing Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
However expectation is he could become the Social Democrat candidate to challenge Ms Merkel's bid for a fourth term in charge of Germany.
If he were to win it might not prove to be good news for Britain’s Brexit negotiations, as Mr Schulz has had a frosty relationship with UK Prime Ministers in his European Parliament role.
He had been pushing for a third 30-month term in defiance of a deal that he make way for a speaker from the centre-right, the chamber's biggest group.
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His departure could see all three main EU political bodies headed by the centre-right, with the conservative leader in the chamber Manfred Weber in the running to replace him.
Speculation Mr Schulz would return to German politics grew after Ms Merkel's grand coalition backed his ally Mr Steinmeier take over in February as Germany's figurehead president.
Opinion polls put the Chancellor in a very strong position to win a fourth term, despite losing support over her welcome for a million asylum seekers last year.
Mr Schulz ran a bookshop in his native Aachen in western Germany before entering the European Parliament in 1994.
As speaker of the body since 2012, he used new powers granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty to increase the legislature's role in EU politics and has used the post to raise his profile at home.