Germany needs to step up its role in defence if the U.S. is to focus less on Europe, defence minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday, adding it will take a modification of the country's debt brake to raise the necessary money.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius voiced his support for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's re-election campaign on Friday, despite speculation that Pistorius could replace Scholz as top candidate for their Social Democrats (SPD).

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday shrugged off questions about whether he would reconsider running as his party's chancellor candidate in the upcoming elections, amid mounting speculation about his political future.

Olaf Scholz, Germany's least popular chancellor on record, is facing growing calls within his Social Democrats (SPD) to step aside and let his Defence Minister Boris Pistorius instead lead the centre-left party into next year's federal election.