After the state elections, the Union parties want to present a joint candidate for chancellor. CDU leader Merz is one option – but CSU leader Söder is also still in the game.
CSU leader Markus Söder has once again put himself forward as the Union’s candidate for chancellor. He is ready to replace the traffic light coalition, “I am ready to do that, whether as prime minister or candidate for chancellor,” said the Bavarian prime minister on Thursday evening in the ZDF “heute journal”.
With regard to CDU leader Friedrich Merz, Söder said that he could do the same. He himself “just explained that one of the two is a possibility, that could possibly be me,” said Söder. However, he and Merz will still make a suggestion for the candidate for chancellor.
The two chairmen of the CDU and CSU had agreed to answer the so-called K question together after the state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg and to make a proposal. In Brandenburg, elections will be held on September 22nd.
Poll sees Söder ahead
Referring to a recent poll on the candidacy for chancellor, which puts him ahead of Merz, Söder said that it shows that “the idea is not so bad and so absurd that one could consider that we have several good candidates.” He was referring to the ARD “Deutschlandtrend,” according to which 41 percent of respondents believe Söder to be a good candidate for chancellor for the Union, compared to just 23 percent for Merz.
In a survey conducted by the polling institute Forschungsgruppe Wahlen on behalf of the ZDF “Politbarometer”, Söder and Merz are closer together. 29 percent of respondents believe that the Union has the greatest chance of doing well in the next federal election with Söder as chancellor candidate, while 23 percent believe that Merz is the best chance.
Söder told ZDF that in the end it all comes down to “that we as a Union – regardless of vanity and egos – offer the best solution”. The only goal, to replace the traffic light coalition, “we will succeed. With Friedrich Merz and me, that will work out great – one way or another”.
Like Merz, Söder wants “35 percent plus X” for the Union
Söder also expressed expectations about the Union’s performance in the federal election. “30 percent for the Union would be too little to form a stable, successful government,” he told “Spiegel”. “Friedrich Merz himself said that the Union’s potential was 35 percent plus X. I share this view.” The Union is currently between 31 and 33 percent in the polls.
Source: Stern
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