Armin Laschet takes pole position to succeed Merkel as German chancellor

Armin Laschet got the backing of CDU party grandees

Justin Huggler

April 13 2021 02:30 AM

Armin Laschet moved a step closer to becoming Angela Merkel’s successor yesterday when the Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) backed him as its preferred candidate for German chancellor in September’s elections.

The party stopped short of formally endorsing Mr Laschet, who was elected party leader in January, and he still faces a challenge from Markus Soder, the popular Bavarian regional leader.

“Everyone wants a quick decision,” Mr Laschet told a press conference after CDU grandees declared unanimous support for him at a meeting of the party presidium. “The country’s problems are too pressing for us to waste time on internal party divisions.”

Mr Soder refused to back down, telling a rival press conference: “This is about the central leadership role in the hardest election campaign we have faced since 1998.”

Months of behind-the-scenes rivalry between the two men finally broke into the open at the weekend when both declared they were ready to lead the CDU into September’s elections, when Germany will choose its successor to Ms Merkel. The party leader would usually be the automatic choice, but a quirk of the German political system means parties name their candidates to become chancellor separately, and the coronavirus pandemic has thrown the campaign into chaos.

The party is haemorrhaging support in the polls and there are calls to parachute in Mr Soder, the much more popular leader of the CDU’s Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). The two parties traditionally campaign together with a joint candidate for chancellor, meaning Mr Soder could easily fill the role.

Several CDU MPs have already come out in support of Mr Soder and yesterday’s declaration by party bigwigs was a clearly orchestrated attempt by Mr Laschet and his allies to shut the issue down.