Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday supports Armin Laschet as the best choice to replace it, ahead of the September 26th election that the poll shows the losing CDU party.
“This is a special election, not only because for the first time since 1949 there is no chancellor who constantly runs the re-election,” said Merkel in what was the possibility of his last speech in parliament ahead of the vote.
“This is also a special election because it is a decision about the direction of our country in difficult times – and it is irrelevant that regulates this country,” he said.
“The best way for our country is the federal government led by CDU / CSU with Armin Laschet as a chancellor, because its government means stability, reliability, moderation, and centrality.” Laschet, Chancellor candidate for Merkel’s CDU and the Allied CSU Bavarian, has long been a favorite to replace him as a chancellor, but the ranking falls after a series of failures.
As head of North Rhine-Westphalia, one of the worst fields affected when the deadly flood swept West Germany in July, Laschet was criticized because of his non-excited response to the disaster.
The 60-year-old Rhinelander was caught on camera joking with local officials during respect for flood victims, and also ridiculed in wearing shoes that were inappropriate to the scene.
But Merkel defended him during a visit to the city of Hagen on Sunday, told reporters that he “led the biggest country in Germany was very successful”.
The CDU-CSU alliance has seen several results of the worst polls for many years as Merkel prepares to bow from politics after 16 years in power.
One survey for Bild Daily on Sunday showed a conservative alliance at 20 percent, the worst score in the post-war period.
The block won 33 percent in the last election in 2017 under Merkel.
Defenders are now representatives of Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, the Social-Social Democrats (SPD) which scored 25 percent in the poll.