He leads opinion polls against all three CDU candidates when Germans are asked who they would like to see as their next chancellor. However given the failure of any of the Christian Democrat candidates to create real momentum at this early stage, CSU chief and Bavarian premier Markus Soeder has been the focus of ardent speculation about a possible run.īavaria has been among the states hardest hit by coronavirus infections and Soeder’s robust response to the outbreak has won praise and given him an intense national spotlight. The chief of the CDU traditionally leads it and its smaller Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union to the polls. The candidates have proposed an online congress if meeting in person were to be impossible because of restrictions to curb coronavirus transmission. North Rhine-Westphalia state premier Armin Laschet, corporate lawyer Friedrich Merz and foreign affairs expert Norbert Rottgen are vying for the post. There are currently three hopefuls for the top job in Germany’s biggest party, with a twice-delayed election for a new chief now scheduled for mid-January. The race to fill Merkel’s shoes still looks wide open, as her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party remains embroiled in an increasingly bitter leadership battle that has been extended by the pandemic. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier must still give his official approval. The government “proposes to the federal president the date of Sunday, Septemfor the election of the 20th Bundestag (lower house of parliament),” spokeswoman Martina Fietz told reporters. Her departure will mark a new, less certain phase in German politics and at the heart of the European Union, whose rotating presidency Merkel currently holds. Merkel has said she will not stand for a fifth term and will retire from politics next year after 16 years at the helm of Europe’s top economic power and the EU’s most populous country. One of the all-time great New Yorker profiles that should not be missed, even if Merkel is on her way out.BERLIN: German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (right) speaks and gesticulates during a session of questions at the Bundestag (lower house of parliament) in Berlin yesterday.-AFPīERLIN: The German government yesterday agreed on September 26 next year for the general election to choose a successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel, a government spokeswoman said. “ The Quiet German: The Astonishing Rise of Angela Merkel, the Most Powerful Woman in the World” by George Packer. For Germany, that’s not by itself a big deal. What this means is that Germany is going to have a weaker coalition and a weaker leader going forward. That Germany is going the way of Italy or the U.S. Only one in five said they were happy with Germany’s leadership. The Key Number That Explains It:Ĩ0 - the percentage of respondents in a June 2018 survey who said they were “somewhat, or completely, dissatisfied” with Merkel’s CSU-led coalition. Expect the SPD - which suffered its worst performance in the last election since World War II - to grow more aggressive over Merkel’s remaining term as it tries to gin up some much-needed policy wins for itself. If the CDU tacks right in their leadership selection to stave off the rise of the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD), it imperils the current grand coalition and may even trigger early elections. Meanwhile the CDU’s junior coalition partner (the SPD) will be watching the leadership race closely. Which means that despite the new face, the CDU will have the same old problems. That may be enough of a distinction within the CDU, but not within the broader context of German politics. Spahn’s calling card will be a tougher migration policy, Merz will frame himself as the business-friendly candidate, and Kramp-Karrenbauer will position herself as a natural continuation of Merkel. General Secretary Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is Merkel’s preferred successor, former MP and MEP Friedrich Merz has spent the last 10 years in the private sector, and Health Minister Jens Spahn is a frequent Merkel critic-all three have announced plans to run. The CDU’s leadership contest has already begun, and whoever wins it is the odds-on favorite to be Germany’s next chancellor. Even given all that, it’s much more likely Merkel leaves office closer to 2019 than 2021. Merkel has always been a deft politician, one who understands political power dynamics better than almost anyone else playing the game today.
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