The race to replace Merkel has boiled down to a competition between Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the centre-left Social Democrats and Armin Laschet of Merkel’s CDU-CSU conservative alliance. Safe pair of handsAs finance minister and vice-chancellor under Merkel, Scholz is one of Germany’s most influential politicians with a reputation for being meticulous, confident and fiercely ambitious. He was the mayor of Hamburg for many years, overseeing the development of the wildly expensive but cherished Elbphilharmonie concert hall. Asked in a recent TV interview whether he thought he was often underestimated, Laschet replied that “many have certainly miscalculated”. Laschet, 60, has a reputation for pragmatism and the ability to unify, famously standing by Merkel during the fallout from Germany’s 2015 refugee influx.

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