‘Merkel’s Successor: The Debate’

Voters in Germany head to the polls in exactly two weeks for the 2021 federal election.

The three candidates most likely to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor faced off in their second TV debate this Sunday. They fielded questions from top journalists and debated each other on the most pressing issues.

DW broadcast the event live in English this Sunday.

Our 2021 Election host Sumi Somaskanda was joined by colleague Gerhard Elfers, DW’s Chief Political Expert Michaela Kuefner and William Glucroft, keeping you up to date with the latest polls and data.

Who are the candidates?

The three highest-polling parties in Germany have the most realistic chance of forming the next government as the strongest party in a coalition. They have each nominated a candidate to be then elected as chancellor by the German parliament, the Bundestag.

Annalena Baerbock is the lead candidate for the Greens, a center-left opposition party. They surged in opinion polls earlier this year, and chances are high that they will be the kingmaker in coalition talks. Baerbock has been joint leader of the party alongside Robert Habeck since 2018. Although she has little government experience and endured a rocky campaign start, media experts were impressed by her performance in previous debates.

Armin Laschet is spearheading the campaign for Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU). He took over as party chair earlier this year after an intense internal power struggle. His campaign start was delayed by a drawn-out negotiation with Markus Söder, head of the CDU’s Bavarian sister party, the CSU, over who would be the main conservative bloc candidate. Since then, his campaign has suffered from several public faux-pas and criticism. Laschet’s popularity in the polls has plummeted and is expected to be on the offensive this Sunday. 

Olaf Scholz serves as finance minister and Angela Merkel’s vice chancellor. He is the main candidate of her junior coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), and the only contender who is not also party chair. The former mayor of Hamburg currently heads the polls and came out of the last debate as a clear favorite. Scholz has styled himself as a reassuring pragmatist in his campaign. Watch DW’s interview with Olaf Scholz below.

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/merkel-s-successor-the-debate/a-59143585?maca=en-rss-en-ger-1023-xml-atom