Laschet, the chancellor candidate for Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc, was long the favourite to be the next German leader, but his ratings have plummeted following a series of missteps. For CDU/CSU, the parties that have dominated German politics since the end of WWII, this is an unmitigated disaster. https://t.co/g4OdXtGrtU — Marcel Dirsus (@marceldirsus) September 7, 2021The CDU/CSU bloc won 33 percent at the last election in 2017 under Merkel, who remains immensely popular with the public. In North Rhine-Westphalia, where Laschet is the regional premier, Merkel told reporters he was “leading the largest state in Germany very successfully”. If the alliance’s fortunes don’t improve soon, it could crash out of the chancellery in favour of an SPD-led government.

Source: The Local September 07, 2021 09:11 UTC