Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet literally smears in the polls for the federal election.
CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel intervened in this emergency of her party - and on attack.
Munich / Berlin - These values are a single debacle for the CDU and the CSU.
There is probably nothing to gloss over between the sister parties or between Berlin and Munich.
And that less than three weeks before the 2021 federal election (September 26th) in Germany.
Will the CDU soon find itself in the opposition under Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet, and that after a historically poor election result at federal level?
Debacle for CDU / CSU in federal election 2021?
Angela Merkel switches to attack
The latest survey by the opinion research institute Forsa for the RTL / n-tv trend barometer - published on September 7th - suggests this impression. Specifically: The Union smeared (despite the future team) under Armin Laschet, down to only 19 percent of the vote. The SPD, on the other hand, increased by two percentage points in this survey among Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz and thus got 25 percent of the vote. The Greens follow in third place with a forecast of 17 percent of the vote.
In view of the poor poll results, (still) Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) stepped in, although she originally wanted to avoid it. Merkel had repeatedly affirmed this. But apparently the need in her party is so great that the head of government feels compelled to bring in her positive feedback from the population. Lash in need! Merkel is now intervening. Already a week earlier, on August 31, at a meeting with Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP), she surprisingly spoke out against Scholz with a sharp choice of words: “With me as Chancellor, there would never be a coalition with the left. In that context it is simply the case that there is a huge difference for the future of Germany between him and me. "
In the video: Angela Merkel attacks Olaf Scholz - "Nobody is a guinea pig"
To put it into perspective: The 63-year-old Lower Saxony is not only finance minister in the current Merkel IV cabinet in Berlin, but also deputy to the Federal Chancellor as a representative of the smaller coalition partner in the GroKo.
So attack your own vice.
In the general debate of the German Bundestag this Tuesday (September 7), Merkel followed up against the former First Mayor of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg (2011 to 2018), who is now (in some cases clearly) ahead of almost all polls on the Bundestag election.
"She didn't need that anymore."
SPD parliamentary group leader Mützenich on Chancellor Merkel (CDU)
There is a threat of an alliance between the SPD and the Greens that “accepts” the participation of the left, Merkel said in her speech in parliament, “at least it does not exclude them!” After violent heckling from individual members of the Bundestag, she replied: “I'm only telling the truth .
My goodness, what a fuss. "The CDU and CSU, on the other hand, could lead Germany into the future with moderation," she continued: "With Armin Laschet as Federal Chancellor."
Election campaign for the 2021 federal election: Angela Merkel (CDU) turns against Olaf Scholz (SPD)
It was also directed against Scholz directly. No one was a "guinea pig" during the vaccinations, said Merkel in an unusually sharp tone. The SPD candidate for chancellor recently had to take criticism because of a corresponding statement. Merkel continued to explain that people would have to be convinced of the corona vaccination with arguments, not with “crooked images”. Scholz, who later came to the lectern, ironed the attack away and instead thanked the coalition partner for the cooperation in the Corona crisis - "also to you, Ms. Chancellor".
Afterwards, SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich accused the head of government of advertising for the Union Chancellor candidate in the Bundestag. "I very much regret that the Chancellor subordinated her office to the election campaign today," said Mützenich to the broadcasters RTL / nt-v. “She no longer needed that.” The confrontation is getting tougher the closer the federal election in 2021 comes. And the Union is evidently worried that after 16 years of government, one will have to take on the role of the opposition.
(pm)
