Elections in Germany: they are the candidates for the office of chancellor

We must remain an industrialized country, as stated in the slogan Armin Lachit.

– In her first speech as a candidate for the position of chancellor, Analina Burbuk said that this country needs a fresh start.

In the elections in Germany On September 26, Angela Merkel left power, after nearly 16 years as a chancellor. Amid a global pandemic that has shaken healthcare, schools and businesses, a political era in Europe’s largest economy is drawing to a close.

Merkel’s Christian Democrats, along with its sister party CSU, have led the polls since the 2017 election. And in November of last year, they had twice the support of the second-largest party. According to the Kantar Institute (Amnid). The political scene has now been shaken by a poll conducted by the same opinion institute which showed that the Greens had toppled the Christian Democratic Union / Christian Social Union.

Read more: The Green Party is Germany’s largest party, according to a new survey

Armin Laschet, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union and the leader of the Green Party, Analina Burbock, is now at the heart of Germany’s unusually exciting electoral movement.

So who are they?

60-year-old Armen Laschet He is a trained lawyer, great-grandfather and head of government in North Rhine-Westphalia. The state is the most populous in Germany, and includes thriving cities such as Dusseldorf and Cologne, which attract international companies and tourists with its vibrant inner cities and cultural life. But here is also the Ruhr region, which is characterized by heavy industry, coal mines – and, more recently, closures and unemployment.

The head of state in the state should be a bridge builder, writing in the German newspaper Focus, describing Armin Laschet as such.

“With Lachette, you don’t know what his strengths are, and what his weaknesses are. He doesn’t have a profile. But that is exactly what makes him compatible with all environments, according to CDU Strategies experts,” He writes the newspaper.

At first glance Armin Laschet appears to be able to continue Angela Merkel’s political legacy. He, like her, wants to have a dialogue with China and Russia. He is closer to the center than the many conservative politicians in the party. In climate policy, he wants to slow down and protect business interests.

But Laschet’s critics say he lacks the determination and clarity of Angela Merkel. During the pandemic, he was criticized for giving double messages about coronary artery strictures. In East Germany, party members warned that Lachit’s wait-and-see approach would result in the party losing voters to the right-wing nationalist AFD.

At the national level, the CDU and CSU’s strongest opponents come from a completely different direction.

The Green Party’s candidate To the position of chancellor has been compared to the Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin and the Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern. 40-year-old attorney Annalina Burbock is one of a generation of well-educated young politicians whose success has sparked interest far beyond the country’s borders.

– I stand for renewal. It is others, not me, that benefit from maintaining the status quo in terms of her presentation as the party’s candidate for the position of chancellor, Analina Burbock said.

Analina Burbuk is described as an intelligent, assertive politician, ready to compromise when needed. Both German and international media are happy to highlight her numerous medals in gymnastics trampoline, as evidence of her determination and fear. She herself described what she had brought with her from sport to politics in an interview With The Getzet Newspaper, 2019 year.

– “Close your eyes and drive.” Otherwise, nothing new will happen, Analina Burbuk said.

Burbock wants that Germany is more clearly standing up against Russia, among other things by shutting down the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline. The party leader wants to phase out Germany’s dependence on coal in 2030, instead of 2038, a goal advocated by Armin Laschet and Angela Merkel. Analina Burbuk and the Greens want to stop deportations to Afghanistan and have previously criticized the government’s stricter rules for family reunification.

One of the candidates’ weaknesses is that she has not held a cabinet position, either at the state or federal levels. In addition, her party, the Green, lacks the long-standing government traditions of the CDU / CSU and the Social Democratic Party.

SPD, yes. The Social Democratic Party needs a big surge to have a chance to become chancellor, but with five months left until the election, a lot could happen. The party’s candidate for chancellor is Olaf Schultz, finance minister and deputy chancellor in the current federal government.

Scholes, 62 years old The robust robotic profile gave it the nickname “Scholzomaten” by Die Zeit magazine in the early 2000s. But since then, the politician has transformed, as Deutsche Welle describes it, from an introverted and pragmatic politician to a minister who is seen as friendly and approachable.

Olaf Scholes recently showed his humor side on a popular talk show, after CSU politician Marcus Söder became annoyed with him and realized that Scholes didn’t need to “smile like the Smurfs.”

The Smurfs are young, cunning and always winning, facing Olaf Schultz.

The Social Democrats go to the polls to cut taxes on low- and middle-income people and reinstate the wealth tax. The party wants to show voters that they take the climate issue seriously and has set, among other things, a goal of 15 million electric cars that will hit the country’s streets by 2030. The Social Democratic Party also wants to invest in hydropower and improve internet connectivity.

Other campaign players It is the FDP, the left-wing Die Linke, and the right-wing Nationalist Party (AFD). According to tradition, only the largest parties in the country nominate a candidate for the position of Federal Chancellor, but smaller parties often go to the polls with a big candidate called “Spitzen”. Neither Die Linke nor the AFD have made a decision yet, but the FDP has appointed party leader Christian Lindner as their top candidate.

Read more: When choice is made at the cradle of the automotive industry, climate is in focus

For now, according to political analysts, it is possible that the CDU / CSU party will once again be able to appoint the country’s advisor and can form a government with the Green Party. But even an alleged traffic light alliance, with an advisor from the Green Party, the Social Democratic Party and the FDP as support parties, could form a majority government, according to a survey conducted. Opportunity view institute Recently published. Such a coalition, although the Social Democratic Party is its largest party, it is currently in its second state in the Rhineland-Palatinate.

What decides next The choice between stability and renewal between the Christian Democrats, and the will of the Greens to break the status quo?

After the summer, Frank Pryce says.

He is Head of the European and International Cooperation Department of the CDU Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

– It would be good for the CDU if the epidemiological situation improved, vaccinations continued and people returned home satisfied after their vacation. But if not, if the British are allowed to go to Mallorca while we are forced to stay home, the situation will be worse.

Newspaper The Mirror Scriver The epidemic has clearly demonstrated that the government’s experience is of little value in extreme and unpredictable situations.

“The challenges of the coming years are very new, radically different, and the experience can even be limited. Lachette can arrange more police officers, Scholes can budget in his sleep. But does it help in controlling the climate crisis?” Der Spiegel writes.

The question is whether the global pandemic has made more or less of the country’s population of over 83 million willing to try new solutions. Germany heads to the polls on September 26.

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