Angela Merkel’s Deputy Can’t Save Germany

The Christian Democratic Union party’s candidate for chancellor, Armin Laschet, is trailing in the polls. This comes after Angela Merkel’s recent announcement that she would step down as CDU leader following her reelection bid to Chancellor. The situation is dire for Germany and Europe at large. As Germans head to the ballot box on September 24th, it seems increasingly likely that their next Chancellor will not be a member of Angela Merkel’s party or coalition government – which could spell disaster given her leadership during the European debt crisis and refugee influx of 2015-2016.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), candidate for chancellor Armin Laschet might just lose out to his rival Social Democrat Martin Schulz. This comes after a recent announcement by Angela that she would step down as CDU leader following her reelection bid to Chancellor in order to concentrate on building a new coalition government. The situation is dire for Germany and Europe at large. As Germans head to the ballot box on September 24th, it seems increasingly likely that their next Chancellor will not be a member of Angela Merkel’s party or coalition government – which could spell disaster given her leadership during the European debt crisis and refugee influx of 2015-2016.

In an attempt to boost support from other parties in Germany in light of the ongoing refugee crisis, Merkel struck a deal with her coalition partners to impose an upper limit on immigration. But she remained steadfast in refusing to close off borders completely – which stirred up further controversy at home and abroad.

Her leadership during that period was seen by some as disastrous but others applauded her for sticking firmly by refugees fleeing war-torn countries like Syria. She instead sought ways to reduce the number of arrivals while improving living conditions at asylum shelters, taking advantage of Europe’s economic recovery since 2013 following tough austerity measures carried out under erstwhile CDU leader Helmut Kohl (1982-1998). The influx did not stop until late 2016 when most Balkan states closed their borders after failing to reach an agreement with Merkel. In an attempt to boost support from other parties in Germany, following the ongoing refugee crisis she struck a deal with her coalition partners to impose an upper limit on immigration but remained steadfast in refusing to close off borders completely – stirring up further controversy. Her leadership during that period was seen by some as disastrous but others applauded her for sticking firmly by refugees fleeing war-torn countries like Syria and instead sought ways reduce the number of arrivals while improving living conditions at asylum shelters taking advantage of Europe’s economic recovery since 2013 after tough austerity measures imposed under erstwhile CDU leader Helmut Kohl (1982-1998). The influx did not stop until late 2016 when most Balkan states closed their borders after failing to reach an agreement with Merkel.

Merkel’s popularity soared in the wake of Germany’s World Cup win, but that did not translate into political gains. Meanwhile Schulz – whose SPD was junior partner to Merkel for eight years until 2013 – has been far less visible on the campaign trail than his rival who says she wants to run “a strong country”. Her leadership during this period included being seen by some as disastrous and others applauded her for sticking firmly by refugees fleeing war-torn countries like Syria while seeking ways reduce the number arrivals while improving living conditions at asylum shelters taking advantage of Europe’s economic recovery since 2013 after tough austerity measures imposed under erstwhile CDU leader Helmut Kohl (1982-1998). The influx did not stop until late 2016 when most Balkan states closed their borders after failing to reach an agreement with Merkel. In a bid to boost support from other parties, following the ongoing refugee crisis she struck a deal with her coalition partners imposing an upper limit on immigration but remained steadfast in refusing close off borders completely – stirring up further controversy. Her leadership during that period was seen by some as disastrous and others applauded for sticking firmly by refugees fleeing war-torn countries like Syria while seeking ways reduce the number arrivals improving living conditions at asylum shelters taking advantage of Europe’s economic recovery since 2013 under tough austerity measures imposed under erstwhile CDU leader Helmut Kohl (1982-1998). The influx did not stop until late 2016 when most Balkan states closed their borders after failing to reach an agreement with Merkel.

In a bid to boost support from other parties following the ongoing refugee crisis she struck a deal with her coalition partners imposing an upper limit on immigration but remained steadfast in refusing close off borders completely – stirring up further controversy. Her leadership during that period was seen by some as disastrous and others applauded for sticking firmly by refugees fleeing war-torn countries like Syria while seeking ways reduce the number arrivals improving living conditions at asylum shelters taking advantage of Europe’s economic recovery since 2013 under tough austerity measures imposed under erstwhile CDU leader Helmut Kohl (1982-1998). The influx did not stop until late 2016 when most Balkan states closed their borders after failing to reach an agreement with Merkel.

In a bid to boost support from other parties following the ongoing refugee crisis she struck a deal with her coalition partners imposing an upper limit on immigration but remained steadfast in refusing close off borders completely – stirring up further controversy. Her leadership during that period was seen by some as disastrous and others applauded for sticking firmly by refugees fleeing war-torn countries like Syria while seeking ways reduce the number arrivals improving living conditions at asylum shelters taking advantage of Europe’s economic recovery since 2013 under tough austerity measures imposed under erstwhile CDU leader Helmut Kohl (1982-1998). The influx did not stop until late 2016 when most Balkan states closed their borders after failing to reach an agreement with Merkel.