The newly elected CDU/CSU candidate for chancellor, Friedrich Merz, expects a dirty Bundestag election campaign of SPD and Greens against him personally. “I expect that there will be no shortage of personal denigrations,” said Merz after the CDU committees’ decision on Monday.
This had already become apparent last week from the SPD and the Greens. The Union will not respond to this. SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil congratulated Merz after the confirmation by the CDU and CSU and added: “All I can say is that I’m looking forward to a fair election campaign. I look forward to a debate.”
Merz and CSU leader Markus Söder had already proposed the CDU leader as the Union’s candidate for chancellor last week. On Monday, the Confirmation by the leaders of the two sister parties in Berlin and Munich.
The CDU chairman and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had already publicly confirmed to each other that they were looking forward to the debate. Merz had Chancellor described as a burden for the SPD and thus the easiest opponent to beat. Scholz and the SPD, on the other hand, are counting on the CDU chairman to make a number of mistakes in the year remaining until the regular federal election.
“Right now, a comparison is taking place in many people’s minds for the first time,” said Klingbeil about the Union’s decision. This will intensify in July, August and September next year. Then the question of who actually stands for which concepts will increasingly come into focus.
Currently, the CDU twice as strong as SPD in pollsIn polls, Scholz also receives very poor approval ratings as chancellor. In an Insa poll on Sunday, however, his approval rating shot up by nine points and was equal to Merz in popularity. The SPD points out that there was also a successful comeback in 2021 before the last federal election. (Reuters)
