The tight race for the position of German Chancellor

Germany's three leading candidates for Chancellor include Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Annalena Baerbock of the Green Party and Armin Laschet of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU). Photo: DW

On September 26, Germany will hold parliamentary elections to choose a successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has led the country for four consecutive terms. The three candidates running for Chancellor include Armin Laschet of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Annalena Baerbock of the Green Party. As the election day approaches, the debate between the three candidates will narrow in scope, revolving around issues close to the lives of the German people, instead of distant foreign policies such as the Afghanistan issue, the situation in the European Union (EU), etc.

The main topics of the final debate were the minimum wage, the climate crisis, and digitalization. The debate heated up when the candidates expressed different views on the minimum wage and policies to achieve social justice. The two candidates from the SPD and the Greens called for a minimum wage of 12 euros per hour. Meanwhile, the CDU/CSU candidate strongly opposed the minimum wage of 12 euros, arguing that wage negotiations were the task of trade unions. According to this candidate, it would be inappropriate to require different professions to impose a uniform wage.

The German parliamentary elections have been tense and unpredictable. For weeks, the support rates for the candidates of the parties have not been very different. However, after the final debate, the advantage is leaning towards SPD candidate Olaf Scholz. 42% of respondents rated Mr. Scholz as having a convincing debate, while the support rates for Mr. Laschet and Ms. Baerbock were 27% and 25%, respectively. According to experts, no party is currently capable of winning the election so strongly that it can form a government on its own.

The upcoming election is an important political event for the German people as they have to choose a worthy replacement for Chancellor Angela Merkel. In the context of Europe's largest economy facing a series of difficulties, especially the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms. Merkel's successor will have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of steering the country through the storm.