On a medieval square in the northern city of Bremen, CDU leader and conservative chancellor candidate Armin Laschet takes the stage at a campaign rally to the rousing sounds of “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky III. “I didn’t expect it to be so close,” says Hans-Georg Friedrichs, a longtime CDU activist in Bremen. He’s had to make himself known.”‘Starting from scratch’“Coming after Merkel is the problem,” agrees Kerstin Eckardt, head of a local CDU group. Bernd Neumann, a CDU veteran and former cabinet minister, agrees that Laschet may be suffering from not being a recognisable name. Laschet has been the leader of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, since 2017, but has never held a ministerial portfolio.

Source: The Local September 18, 2021 11:15 UTC