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epa09547617 Acting German Minister of Finance and Social Democratic Party (SPD) top candidate for the federal elections Olaf Scholz poses for media as he receives the certificate of discharge by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (not in the picture), at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany, 26 October 2021. Following the 26 September 2021 elections, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and ministers of the government cabinet received their certificates of discharge but will continue to hold their offices on an acting basis until a new government is finally formed. EPA/CLEMENS BILAN