Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) launches his election campaign with a speech in Bochum, western Germany. In front of 1,300 supporters, the current finance minister detailed his programme, declaring that he wants to raise the minimum wage to 12 euros and encourage the transition to carbon neutrality. For months, the SPD has hovered around 15% in the polls - far behind the CDU/CSU and the Greens. But since the beginning of August, the party has been gaining ground. In ZDF's latest "political barometer", it came in at 19%, on a par with the Greens and only seven points behind the CDU/CSU. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES