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Tense relationship: CDU boss Armin Laschet (left) and Markus Söder fought a duel for the candidacy for chancellor in the spring
Photo: Guido Kirchner / dpa
Soon Armin Laschet's face will be featured on countless election posters in Germany. In the federal election on September 26, the CDU boss wants to become chancellor. But if the majority of Germans had their way, then a different face should be depicted on these posters: that of Markus Söder. According to a representative SPIEGEL survey by the opinion research institute Civey, many voters are in favor of CSU boss Söder replacing CDU boss Laschet as candidate for Union chancellor - six weeks before the election.
Recently there has been more and more criticism of Laschet.
Among other things, he is accused of avoiding clear positions in the election campaign.
The Union's lower polls are also causing unrest - Söder has also repeatedly called for a more committed election campaign and warned of a defeat for the Union parties.
When asked "In your opinion, should CSU boss Markus Söder replace CDU boss Armin Laschet as candidate for Union chancellor?"
Around 39 percent are against changing candidates.
The sampling error is +/- 2.5 percentage points.
You can find out more about the Civey method here.
Particularly alarming for Laschet and the Union parties: The need for a change is particularly pronounced among the supporters of the Union.
Around 70 percent of those questioned speak out in favor of Söder as candidate for chancellor shortly before the election.
It had already been indicated in the spring that Söder would be much better received in parts of the Union than the North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Laschet.
At that time, Söder and Laschet fought openly for the candidacy for chancellor.
Many members of the Bundestag of the Union spoke out in favor of the man from Bavaria and referred to the mood at the grassroots level.
The CDU executive committee ultimately backed Armin Laschet, Söder withdrew.
There is less support for a change among the supporters of the other parties.
This can possibly be explained by the fact that they have observed the fall in the polls for Laschet - and hope with him as an opponent for better election results for their own party.
Sunday question: Union continues to lose
After all, the polls of the parties are moving closer together in the SPIEGEL Sunday question.
If there were general elections on Sunday, the CDU and CSU would have around 24 percent.
The Greens would be the second strongest force with 20 percent.
Behind, as in the previous weeks, is the SPD with 18 percent.
12 percent of the votes would go to the FDP, 11 percent to the AfD.
The left would get 7 percent of the vote.
Fluctuations are within the margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.
The Union's negative trend continues this week, and the polls have been falling for weeks.
The Greens and the SPD remain constant.
Even with the FDP, AfD and the Left, no major changes can be seen with a view to the last few weeks.
lukewarm