The head of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) secured the backing of the party’s leaders on Monday, a key boost for his campaign to succeed the veteran leader at elections in September, but his rival has signaled that he would not go down without a fight.
At a meeting in Berlin, CDU leaders threw their support behind Armin Laschet to lead the party and its smaller sister party, the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), to the polls on Sept. 26 — when Merkel is to retire after 16 years as chancellor.
However, Laschet’s rival, Markus Soeder, head of the CSU, said that such a key decision taken “only from the top” could lead to divisions.
“Rather, one must also have the rank and file on board,” he said, as the leadership of the CSU threw their support behind him.
The stalemate left Merkel’s conservative alliance entering a crucial election year locked in a bitter leadership rivalry.
Though the CDU leader would normally be the bloc’s first choice as chancellor candidate, dismal poll ratings have led to calls for Laschet to step aside in favor of Soeder, who is more popular with the public.
The latest survey published by Bild had Soeder outstripping even Merkel to become the most popular politician in Germany.
The stakes in the race are high, as support for the CDU-CSU has plunged to record lows of less than 30 percent following anger over management of the COVID-19 pandemic, a sluggish vaccination program and a corruption scandal over mask procurement.
With the once-fringe Green Party now polling just a few points behind, the CDU-CSU faces the real prospect of losing the chancellery for the first time since 2005.
Long-time Merkel ally Laschet, 60, took over as CDU leader in January, but has since suffered a series of setbacks, including a damaging spat with Merkel over COVID-19 containment measures.
As head of the most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, Laschet defended his broad interpretation of national disease prevention measures, calling for “more freedom and flexibility.”
He was also ridiculed on social media for saying that he needed time to “think about” how to deal with Germany’s third wave of infections over Easter. Then critics accused him of flip-flopping when he appeared to change his mind, with calls for a “bridge lockdown.”
CDU general secretary Paul Ziemiak on Monday said that there was “broad support” among the party’s senior members for Laschet “as a chancellor candidate for the CDU and CSU.”
However, the CSU parliamentary group in the Bavarian state parliament demanded a vote on the candidacy among all CSU and CDU members.
“Elections can only be won with real, broad-based support — especially when it is close,” Soeder said after a meeting of the CSU senior leadership in Berlin.
The Bavarian leader consistently beats Laschet in popularity polls, with a survey commissioned by business daily Handelsblatt showing that 46 percent of Germans thought he would be a good chancellor candidate, compared with just 12 percent for Laschet.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
‘ATTACK ON CIVILIZATION’: The culture ministry released drawings of six missing statues representing the Roman goddess of Venus, the tallest of which was 40cm Investigators believe that the theft of several ancient statues dating back to the Roman era from Syria’s national museum was likely the work of an individual, not an organized gang, officials said on Wednesday. The National Museum of Damascus was closed after the heist was discovered early on Monday. The museum had reopened in January as the country recovers from a 14-year civil war and the fall of the 54-year al-Assad dynasty last year. On Wednesday, a security vehicle was parked outside the main gate of the museum in central Damascus while security guards stood nearby. People were not allowed in because
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
RSS