Opposition leader Friedrich Merz confirmed that he would run against German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in next year’s national elections, according to Euractiv.
Merz spoke to journalists on Tuesday, 17 September, at an extraordinary press conference in Berlin together with CSU leader Markus Söder.
We’re going into 2025 with the intention of retaking the leadership responsibility for our country (…) with policies that will bring Germany back to the front.
Merz is currently the favourite to win next year’s election. A recent Insa poll showed support at around 33 per cent, ahead of the national-oriented AfD and 19 per cent ahead of Scholz’s SPD.
In his speech, he blasted Scholz’s coalition for its migration and economic policies.
The big topic that we have been occupied with for a long time in Germany is the economic situation in Germany. The economic situation in Germany is precarious.
Merz’s decision on Tuesday came as a surprise after German media reported over the weekend that the CDU planned to choose its main candidate after Sunday’s regional elections in Brandenburg.
His rise marks a shift of the CDU to the right after the era of centrist Chancellor Angela Merkel. He was a long-time internal opponent of Merkel, whom she ousted as CDU parliamentary leader in 2004 before he left parliament in 2009.
Scholz has already said he intends to run again, although the SPD’s most popular politician is Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who ranks first in popularity among German voters. Meanwhile, the AfD is also considering the idea of running a candidate for chancellor. Leader Tino Chrupalla stated in July that his co-leader Alice Weidel would be “a very good candidate.”
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who was defeated by Scholz in 2021, announced she would not run, leaving Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck as frontrunner.
