Laschet Wins Battle To Lead Merkel’s Party Into German Election

Chairman of the German Christian Democratic party (CDU), Armin Laschet, on Tuesday won a bruising power struggle to become the candidate of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right bloc for chancellor in the September election.

The race turned into a heated duel after both Laschet, the leader of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, and Soeder, who leads its smaller Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, declared their interest in succeeding Merkel.

According to reports, at a stormy meeting of the CDU leadership that lasted until after midnight, 31 of its members voted for Laschet, nine for Soeder and six abstained, That prompted Soeder to concede.

Governor of Germany’s most populous state, Armin Laschet, now faces another hurdle which is to connect with voters and win over frustrated fellow conservatives who backed his more popular rival, Markus Soeder.

Their Union bloc is the last major political force to nominate a candidate for chancellor in the Sept. 26 parliamentary election, in which Merkel is not seeking a fifth term after nearly 16 years in power.

Parts of the CDU favored Soeder, while others strongly opposed his bid to push Laschet aside for the top job.

Although Soeder has much better poll ratings, Laschet was elected in January as the leader of by far the bigger of the sister parties which was primarily a conflict of personality and style rather than policy.

The Union leads polls ahead of the environmentalist Greens, who on Monday nominated Annalena Baerbock as their first candidate to be chancellor.