Germany | Merkel then started in the dual race

Yanick Pasquette and Sophie Macris
France Media Agency

“We have found that we are both fit and ready to be candidates for the moderate camp,” Marcus Soder, owner of the Land of Bavaria, after a closed meeting on Sunday, officials of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group said.

The CSU leader, the sister party of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), ended his continued suspense over wanting to get the chancellor when he was a longtime favorite among traditional contenders.

Armin Laschett, who took over the leadership of the CDU in January, said that, as expected, he also wants a nomination for the September 26 legislative elections.

“Depending on the situation in the country, with the retiring Chancellor, our goal is to achieve as much unity as possible between the CDU and the CSU, because the stakes are high,” Mr Laschett told a news conference. His opponent.

“Europe is watching us, the world needs a strong Germany,” he said.

The Conservatives have promised to choose their candidate “between Easter and Pentecost” (May 24), but the timetable is expected to accelerate.

Armin Laschett agreed with Marcus Soder that “we need a quick decision”.

Meetings with conservative officials will follow each other in the coming days.

Alexander Dobrindt, deputy chairman of the parliamentary group, said he expected the parties to make a decision “in two weeks”.

Weight of poles

The goal? Get out of the root as soon as possible. Because after the end of Angela Merkel’s rule, after 16 years in power, the movement will become a litmus test, to the extent that it could jeopardize their victory in the legislative elections, which seemed guaranteed a few months ago.

The irregular management of the epidemic, the setback in the recent two regional elections, and the CDU and the Christian Social Union (CSU) have also led to financial embezzlement around the purchase of medical masks.

The CDU-CSU union currently collects only 26% to 28.5% of voting intentions for the September 26 legislative elections. It is almost 10 points lower than February, and it has risen to 40% since last year.

Now that the Greens are following the traditional camp, they dream of pleasing the Chancellor.

Marcus Soder, 54, has elections on his side. According to the public channel ARD, 54% of voters believe he is a good candidate. For sixty-year-old Armin Laschett, the share of positive views is only 16%.

But usually the submission of the candidate is up to the CDU. The regional group CSU represented only two conservative camps twice in the election, with two failures.

Balanced

Armin Laschett accumulates setbacks to his character. His recent proposal for a tough, concise lockdown to curb third-wave pollution has provoked criticism.

The regional leader of North Rhine-Westphalia has so far achieved ease until he comes into conflict with Angela Merkel.

For the elected official, who has long been considered the political successor of Angela Merkel, it is difficult to formulate both continuity and renewal.

In a newspaper interview Image On Sunday, he tried again with this balance, “having a years-long agreement with the Chancellor on the fundamental questions of politics”, especially the refugee reception that split the party in 2015.

But he called for a “new era”, wanting to accelerate digital and environmental transformation and fight bureaucracy.

Some are popular, others are skilled strategists, such as Angela Merkel who took tough measures against the Marcus Soder virus.

The need to nominate a candidate is high because the Social Democrats (SPD) have been resolving the issue for months by electing the current finance minister, Olaf Schల్lz. Greens will decide on April 19th.