BERLIN (GERMANY) – Armin Laschet, the new leader of Germany’s Christian Democrats, has yet to make voters convinced that he would be a better choice than Bavarian premier Markus Soeder to become Chancellor Angela Merkel’s successor after elections in September, a poll showed on Monday.
Centrist Laschet positioned himself on Saturday as the man to work towards solving divisions among Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) after party delegates chose him to lead the party, thereby bringing him in a crucial position to succeed her as chancellor.
However, 36% of voters would still choose or want Soeder to be chancellor candidate for Merkel’s conservative alliance, as per a survey of 2,000 voters by pollster Forsa for broadcaster RTL/ntv conducted after Saturday’s vote. Laschet followed on 21%.
Soeder leads the Christian Social Union (CSU), Bavarian sister party to the CDU. Together they form the conservative “Union”.
The Union has twice capitalised on a CSU candidate. Both lost. But the narrow 521-466 margin of Laschet’s runoff victory for the CDU leadership over Friedrich Merz highlights the daunting task Laschet faces in bringing forth an alliance.
Despite Merkel’s victory in four successive federal election victories, the Union has never been agreed with or felt comfortable with her centrist course.
JP Morgan analyst Greg Fuzesi said, “For the CDU, the close vote means that tensions within the party about its fundamental direction will continue. A large section of the party clearly wanted to shift in a conservative direction.”
Soeder, 54, has madeshifts from the right towards the moderate centre of late. “My place is in Bavaria” has been a line he has recurrently mentioned.
However, Soeder has also said the CDU and CSU will decide together as to who should contest for chancellor, and demanded the Union to decide on its candidate only after state elections in mid-March.