Now a decision seems to have been made. Friedrich Merz should be the Union’s candidate for chancellor – not Markus Söder. A poll puts him ahead of Olaf Scholz.
Berlin – Now things could happen very quickly. Friedrich Merz (CDU) wants to become the Union’s candidate for chancellor in the next federal election. After the state election in Brandenburg on September 22nd, the CDU leader wants to officially announce the decision on the K question. This was reported by the Picture on Sunday citing party circles.
Previously, there had been repeated minor digs from Markus Söder, who had also announced that he would not rule out a candidacy for chancellor. In an interview with the ZDF-“heute journal” said last week that he too could be considered as a candidate for chancellor and that the matter had not yet been decided. But now it seems to be final: Merz will lead the Union into the election campaign in 2025.
Merz ahead of Scholz in terms of competences – but there is still a catch
And according to a survey by the opinion research institute Insa for Picture on Sunday Many voters see the CDU leader ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in terms of competence. In a total of eight out of ten areas, respondents considered Merz to be more competent than Scholz.
For example, 40 percent consider Merz to be more competent on the issue of migration and asylum, while only 19 percent consider Scholz to be more competent. Scholz is only ahead in the survey on the issues of social affairs and climate/Environmental protection. When it comes to the economy, 41 percent think Merz is more capable – Scholz only gets 20 percent.
However, most of those surveyed do not want either of them as chancellor – according to the survey, 48 percent of those surveyed do not want Merz or Scholz as head of government. 25 percent would vote for Merz as chancellor, 21 percent for Scholz.
CDU with strong poll results – probably no power struggle between Söder and Merz
The CDU also sees itself buoyed by the current polls. In the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia, the party achieved a strong result with 31.9 percent and 23.6 percent respectively. In polls for the federal election, the Union is currently at 33 percent, according to the Insa poll from September 14.
A significantly stronger result than in the last federal election in 2021. Here the alliance of CDU and CSU received 24.1 percent. At that time there was a small power struggle between Armin Laschet and Markus Söder when the two argued about the candidacy for chancellor. Söder had to admit defeat then too. Merz, on the other hand, wanted to prevent a repeat of the 2021 election and announce the final decision on the K question as early as possible. (sischr/afp)
#Germans #Merz #competent #Scholz