Insight
Choosing Merkel’s successor: None of the above? by Sophia Besch and Christian Odendahl 12 January 2021
The competition for ‘Merkel voters’ has started, and the CDU needs a leader able to keep her broad coalition of supporters together. That may well be health minister Jens Spahn. The German Christian Democrats (CDU) need a new party leader, after Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, or AKK for short, failed to fill Angela Merkel’s shoes and resigned in February 2020. This next CDU leader has a good chance of becoming the conservative candidate for chancellor in the German elections this autumn. But winning the election is another matter. Merkel’s approval rating still stands at a whopping 84 per cent after almost 16 years in power – in part because the pandemic has reaffirmed her image as Europe’s foremost crisis manager. No successor will have Merkel’s broad appeal and be able to hold onto that support once the pandemic is over. But some have a better chance than others. Considering the CDU candidates on offer, the timing in September 2021 and the opposition, the German election is wide open. On January 15th and 16th, roughly 1,000 CDU delegates – representing the party’s local groups – will vote for the new leader. On the ballot are three men, with a run-off among the top two if the first round does not yield a majority.
CER INSIGHT: Choosing Merkel’s successor: None of the above? 12 JANUARY2021
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