CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt assumes that the question of the Union’s candidate for chancellor will be clarified in September or not until October. He told the newspapers of the Funke media group: “September and October are two good months for making decisions.” CDU leader Friedrich Merz and CSU leader Markus Söder had agreed to decide the question in late summer, after the state elections in three eastern German states, of which Brandenburg is still pending on 22 September.
According to Dobrindt, no preliminary decision has been made yet“The candidacy for chancellor is open as long as it has not been decided,” he said. “We have two outstanding party leaders in the CDU and CSU. It is the natural expectation of both parties that their leaders are always considered as candidates for chancellor.” In surveys, however, Merz is clearly behind Söder when it comes to the question of candidacy for chancellor. Dobrindt commented: “Poll numbers are always relevant.” But they are not the only criteria.
The next regular federal election is on September 28 next year. Dobrindt says he does not expect the traffic light coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to collapse before then“The greatest service Olaf Scholz could do for Germany would be quick new elections,” he said. “My current impression, however, is that the traffic light coalition unfortunately takes the year of separation before the final divorce very seriously.” (dpa)
