Elections in Germany: Meet the main candidates to replace Angela Merkel | Globalism

first appearance Olaf Schultz of the Christian Democratic Party (SPD), center left. The current Minister of Economy and Vice-Chancellor, is part of the coalition that supports the Merkel government, and his possible victory would practically mark a continuation of most of the current policies.

Schulz is a 63-year-old lawyer specializing in labor law who has been a member of the Social Democratic Party since 1975 and was first elected to the Bundestag, the German parliament, in 1998. He was also Minister of Labor and Mayor of Hamburg.

Extremely pragmatic, he was once the target of jokes when he was called “Scholzomat,” a joke in his name and the word “robot,” suggesting that he would be more a machine than a human.

Without much charisma, he benefited greatly from the declining popularity of his main opponents, and kept his campaign low profile. In his speeches, he promotes himself as a promise of stability, more “guaranteed” than the shadowy Christian Democrat that Merkel supports.

Merkel’s candidate, in this case, is Armin Laschet, from the same party as the prime minister, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). It started doing well in the polls, but its response in the government of North Rhine-Westphalia – the country’s most populous state – to the Covid crises and floods that have left more than 100 people dead in the country left something to be desired.

To make matters worse, he does not convey a security image and does not usually respond directly when asked about his plans and proposals, which does not go unnoticed by voters and the press who demand more assertiveness in their speeches and actions.

The only woman who has any real chance of racing, Annalena Baerbock, do Green Party, the youngest person to rule Germany in history, at just 40 years old.

She even led the polls, but only for a short time. He soon became the target of a series of criticisms and demands, and admits that he made “mistakes” in his campaign.

The German press also cited inexperience – Bierbock never held a government position – as one of the reasons for his poor performance in pressure situations.

The candidate – who is considered one of those responsible for the revitalization and growth of the German Green Party – has become the most common target of disinformation in this election, with an estimate that 70% of attacks spread through fake news are directed at her, with about the remaining 30% going to Armin Laschet. And almost none of them went to Olaf Schultz.

Today, even with no chance of winning, Leerbuck is instrumental in deciding the name of the future chancellor, as the Greens’ support should be crucial to the coalition that will form a majority capable of governing.