Race to succeed Merkel escalates as CDU endorses party leader

ARMIN LASCHET moved a step closer to becoming Angela Merkel’s successor yesterday when her 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 Söder, the popular and charismatic 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 Söder 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 Mrs 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 Söder, 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 single joint candidate for chancellor, meaning Mr Söder could easily fill the role.

Several CDU MPS have already come out in support of Mr Söder and yesterday’s declaration by party bigwigs was a clearly orchestrated attempt by Mr Laschet and his allies to shut the issue down. The Bavarian has the support of his own party but cannot hope to win the candidacy without the backing of the much larger CDU, and said on Sunday he would withdraw if he did not secure it.

He hastily back-pedalled yesterday, calling for the two parties’ MPS to be given a say in the decision, thus challenging the way party grandees traditionally choose the candidate for chancellor through backroom deals.