All over for Merkel? Europhile tipped for next leader as nation loses faith in Chancellor
ANGELA Merkel could be replaced as Chancellor by Germany’s arch-europhile defence minister as the nation loses faith in her ability to form a Government.
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The European powerhouse has struggled to build a coalition as Mrs Merkel's narrow electoral victory in September sparked talks for a so-called ‘Jamaica’ alliance of her CDU party, the Greens and the FDP which fell apart.
And while she is scrambling to unite with former European Parliament Chief Martin Schulz and his centre-left SPD cohort, the electorate is rapidly losing faith in Mrs Merkel's ability to lead.
The latest Civey poll for Die Welt has claimed an overwhelming majority of respondents think Ms Merkel should resign immediately – with 46 percent calling for her to step down while only 10 percent say she should remain in her post.
And 17 percent of the 5,120 respondents questioned between December 28 and 30 think the German leader, who has been in power since 2005, should step down if coalition talks fail yet again.
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Meanwhile a poll carried out for Bild am Sonntag placed Ursula Von Der Leyen as a strong candidate for the nation’s next chancellor in a potential catastrophe for Brexiteers.
The defence minister is a strong believer in a federalised United States of Europe, grew up in Brussels and is the daughter of former director-general of the European Commission Ernst Albrecht.
She could also form an even stronger alliance with French President Emmanuel Macron, with the 59-year-old mother of seven sharing his views on reforms to integrate the Eurozone.
The German Chancellor has been desperately attempting to strike a deal with former European Parliament President Martin Schulz – who currently leads her biggest rival in the Bundestag, the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
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The grand coalition of Germany’s two biggest parties would save Ms Merkel from having to lead with a minority Government - a feat which has never been attempted in the history of the Bundestag.
However, while the SPD have opened up to talks with Mrs Merkel’s CDU on January 7, the two have given themselves a deadline of mid-January to broker a deal.
The German political class are concerned under a minority government the stalwart German Chancellor will struggle to achieve in her fourth term – or be forced to pander to the far right Alternative for Germany (AFD) party who gained a foothold in the parliament in September’s vote.
Ahead of the talks top party officials from the Chancellor’s CDU, its Bavarian sister party the CSU and Mr Schulz’s SPD met to set out a timeline for talks, with all three claiming “it was a good conversation in an atmosphere based on trust” in a joint statement.
