New German Christian Democratic candidate for chancellor promotes policies of herd immunity, austerity and war
The Christian Democratic candidate for Chancellor in September’s general election is incumbent North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) state premier Armin Laschet. He succeeds Angela Merkel (Christian Democratic Union, CDU), who has been the lead candidate for the CDU and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) in the last four federal elections and has governed the country as chancellor since 2005.
The decision was preceded by a power struggle lasting several days between Laschet and Markus Söder, the right-wing conservative Bavarian state premier and CSU leader. Söder, who justified his claim to the candidacy by pointing to higher popularity ratings among voters and within the Union (CDU/CSU), ultimately bowed to the decision of the CDU executive.