Germany’s Merkel to face challenger Schulz in Sept. 3 debate

BERLIN – German broadcasters say that Chancellor Angela Merkel will face challenger Martin Schulz in a single televised debate three weeks before the country’s national election.

Public television stations ARD and ZDF and private broadcaters RTL and SAT.1 said Tuesday that they will jointly host the live debate on Sept. 3.

Conservative Merkel is seeking a fourth term in the Sept. 24 vote and faces a challenge from centre-left Social Democrat Schulz, a former head of the European Parliament who secured his party’s nomination earlier this year.

This will be the fifth election in which the two contenders for the chancellery have held televised debates. There were two debates between then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and challenger Edmund Stoiber in 2002, but at every election since there has only been one debate.