Twelve months of election campaigning is a long time, Friedrich Merz’s fuse is short. Markus Söder is banking on the time after Merz. And if he’s lucky, that will begin before the federal election.
You can say a lot about Markus Söder, but he’s not completely stupid. Of course, it has long been clear to him that Friedrich Merz will be the Union’s candidate for chancellor if the CDU leader wants it. Söder knows that the CDU, in its vast majority, resents him for the way he repeatedly taunted the then candidate Armin Laschet in 2021. And he knows that this time the CDU is putting harmony above all else, which is why even former supporters of Angela Merkel are submitting to a candidacy by Friedrich Merz, whom they twice refused entry, sorry, his place at the top of the party just a few years ago. The starting position with the huge lead in the polls means that the Union has one top priority: no more arguments now.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
