2024-09-22 08:48:20
Challenged by Wüst, crowned by Söder: Friedrich Merz has achieved a political feat by being chosen as candidate for chancellor. Against such a strong opponent, it will be difficult for Chancellor Scholz.
Suddenly everything happened very quickly. Merz did it, Söder declined. This not only makes it clear who the Union’s next candidate for chancellor is, but also that if not too much goes wrong now, if Merz doesn’t make any more mistakes, it will be difficult to take the chancellorship away from him next year.
There are at least two reasons for this – as of today. The first is the person in the Chancellery and is named Olaf Scholz (SPD). The Chancellor may repeat as often as he likes that the wind will change, that the polls will definitely get better, that it worked last time – but in the end this story seems less realistic with each passing day.
Because unlike three and a half years ago, when Scholz was initially miles behind the then Union candidate Armin Laschet but then caught up, voters now know Scholz all too well. And: they personally associate him with a government that they reject more than any before.
Video | Söder declines: Merz becomes Union’s candidate for chancellor
Scholz is the personification of the traffic light coalition and is therefore no longer electable for the majority of Germans. A stigma that he will hardly be able to get rid of within a year. Many people will think that Merz would be better, who, despite his age, almost ironically represents a new policy, a change that the country clearly wants.
This brings us to the second reason: Merz himself. According to surveys, he is less popular than those very competitors within the party who have now almost theatrically backed down in his favor, Markus Söder and NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst. But popularity is not everything.
In the end, what counts in politics is what Merz has demonstrated with the candidate coronation that was surprisingly announced today: assertiveness, tactical skill and thus an absolute will to power.
Of course, neither Wüst nor Söder were ever really considered as possible candidates for chancellor. They flirted with corresponding ambitions, but secretly knew that if Merz wanted to, he would do it.
The fact that he has decided to clarify the K question before the Brandenburg election could be interpreted as weakness. Merz, driven by Hendrik Wüst. Merz, crowned by Söder’s grace.
But you can also look at it this way: someone pulled the strings elegantly. Merz has pulled off a small political feat. First he sent his competitor Wüst to Düsseldorf to challenge him as candidate for chancellor. The next day he secured Söder’s “full backing” by acclamation in the Bavarian state representation. Seen in this way, that would be a sign of strength. And that is also needed as chancellor.