German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative coalition is facing an election in less than six months, but its approval ratings are slipping. Now the pressure is mounting on the coalition to select a candidate for chancellor, with key discussions set to take place today.
AFP reports that Merkel’s 60-year-old longtime ally Armin Laschet took over as president of the Christian Democrats (CDU) in January this year. In general, Laschet would be the first choice to lead the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Socialist Party (CSU), ahead of the Sept. 26 general election.
However the way the CDU/CSU recently handled the 2019 coronavirus disease (Chinese Communist Virus, COVID-19) crisis has caused a heavy setback in their support. Some have called for Ratchett to step aside and let the more charismatic 54-year-old Kiwanis president Markus Soeder take the lead.
The two men will have a chance to prove themselves today after several rounds of fist-pumping on talk shows and in the media, each addressing conservative lawmakers.
Although neither Rachet nor Soeder has officially announced himself as a candidate, Bild called today’s meeting “the weekend to see the real deal” in the race for Mekel’s successor.
The coalition is not expected to make a final decision today. Alexander Dobrindt, leader of the KDP parliamentary group, told reporters before the meeting that the decisive moment will come “in the next two weeks”.
Ralph Brinkhaus, leader of the CDU parliamentary group, said, “We are now very interested in getting the whole thing moving quickly.” He also pointed out that the first step is to discuss with the leaders of both parties how to forge a common course in the future.
In an interview with Bild am Sonntag, Rachet also called for a decision to be made as soon as possible, based on “the internal climate of the CDU”. He said: “Unity is very important. The CDU and the KPD will have a lot to gain by making decisions together and quickly.”
The CDU/CSU is most likely to choose its candidate behind closed doors. Rachet told Germany’s second television station (ZDF) that the conservatives would pick the one who “best fits our electoral plan.” But Söder, interviewed by Der Spiegel on the 7th, insisted that the candidate must be “accepted by the people as a whole, not just by the party”.
Söder, who is fond of Star Trek and fancy dress, has repeatedly beaten Rachet in the polls. A recent survey by Germany’s TV station ARD showed that 54 percent of Germans think Söder would be a good candidate, compared to 19 percent for Rachet.
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