translated from Spanish: Merkel’s coalition breaks tradition and anticipates internals to succeed her

Angela Merkel’s departure to the head of the Federal Republic of Germany has long been planned, but it is happening at a particularly tumultuous time marked by the pandemic, the global economic crisis and political updogs on the old continent, from the aftermath of Brexit to access to Covid-19 vaccines.In this process Armin Laschet was elected as leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and “candidate of continuity”. But with pre-federal regional elections, the reality that the political future of a Germany that will not include Merkel is just beginning to settle down. Historically, the winner of the election for the CDU party is the candidate for chancellor by the CDU – CSU (Christian Social Union of Bavaria) alliance and also historically the candidate of this space is usually the winner of the federal elections and the chancellor of Germany. 

Christian Democratic Union leader Armin Laschet

However, the mourning within Angela Merkel’s coalition to succeed her is now official, after the leaders of the two conservative parties that make up it confirm that the candidacy for the Head of Government will be contested. The dispute will pit Armin Laschet against CSU leader Markus Soeder. At a closed-door meeting of the coalition, Soeder, the chief minister of Bavaria, the richest and most thriving German state, said he was willing to meet expectations and compete for the German Chancellery in September to succeed Chancellor Merkel.For his part and as expected, Laschet, chief minister of the North Rhine-Westphalia region, also commented that he would be a candidate for the investiture. 68% of CDU members support Soeder as a candidate for chancellor, according to a poll published earlier this month by Forsa. By contrast, only 21% want the party’s president, Laschet, to be the conservatives’ candidate, while 11% remain undecided.

Markus Soder leaves after a press conference in Berlin.

At the helm of the CDU since January, Laschet, who until now had been the champion of the flexibilization of restrictions by coronavirus, sparked criticism and even mockery after recently proposing strict confinement to curb the third wave of contagion. While polls suggest that Soeder is a more popular candidate than Laschet, both candidates were defeated in the past when they tried to run for the Chancellery, as the head of government is called in Germany.The end of Merkel’s tenure, after 16 years in power, is becoming an ordeal for conservatives, to the point of endangering his victory in the elections , which seemed assured only a few months ago.

Original source in Spanish