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Markus Söder: "It will be very tight in the next few weeks"
Photo: Michael Kappeler / picture alliance / dpa
The polls are falling, the chancellor candidate is losing approval: Now even CSU leader Markus Söder has expressed his dissatisfaction with the Union's election campaign so far: “It's close.
It will be very tight in the next few weeks, "said Söder on Saturday at the Union's official election campaign in Berlin.
The Bundestag election on September 26th will be the toughest ballot for the Union since the defeat by the SPD in 1998.
"The trend is not going up steeply," said Söder, with a view to the sometimes significantly falling polls for the Union.
But Söder assured the followers: “Nothing is lost.
There is cause for a fight, "and demanded:" Let's finally make a sensible election campaign. "With this he indirectly poked at the Union's candidate for Chancellor Armin Laschet.
The two had previously fought a power struggle for the candidacy.
After a vote in the board of directors, Söder withdrew his candidacy offer.
Support from Merkel
On the other hand, Laschet received encouragement from the still incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The CDU and CSU should fight together to ensure that a Union-led federal government will continue to follow after their term in office, said Merkel.
To the cheers of the campaigners in the hall, she added: Together "with Armin Laschet as future Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany."
You have known Laschet since his time in the Bundestag from 1994 to 1998, said Merkel.
It has always been important to Laschet to focus on people with their inviolable dignity and to build bridges between people.
Laschet insists on a faster pace of approval procedures
In his speech, Laschet himself called for "more Europe" in foreign and security policy in view of the situation in Afghanistan.
"As Europeans, we must also be able to secure an airport like the one in Kabul," said the CDU chairman.
Laschet is also counting on more German defense efforts.
The two percent target for defense spending agreed in NATO must be adhered to.
The candidate for chancellor accused the SPD and the Greens of wanting to say goodbye to this goal.
"We have to make our contribution to the security of Germany in this unstable world," said Laschet.
"We expect every potential coalition partner to have a clear orientation in foreign and security policy for our country."
In the event of a government takeover, Laschet first wants to speed up planning and approval procedures in Germany.
"We have to work differently here, otherwise the fight against climate change will not succeed," said Laschet.
In the first 100 days as Chancellor, he will "focus on planning acceleration packages."
For example, the expansion of the power lines must go much faster than before.
A consensus between business, trade unions and environmental protection associations is necessary.
kah / dpa
