Markus Söder (CSU) made clear in the ARD summer interview on Sunday that Friedrich Merz (CDU) remains the right candidate for chancellor in his view. The Bavarian minister-president said: “I am firmly convinced that Friedrich Merz will remain chancellor.” Merz stands “very, very stable and strong.” Söder was responding to speculation that had arisen due to the coalition’s weak poll numbers.
Warning against new elections
Söder also warned against a change of government. Anyone seeking new elections now “only promotes one thing: radicals coming to power,” he said. Instead, he called for unity and cohesion: “What is needed now is cohesion, what is needed is unity.” The discussion about a possible change of chancellor arose against the backdrop of the state elections in the autumn, in which the CDU fears a poor performance.
AfD success: migration and economy
Söder attributed the AfD’s high approval ratings to two factors: what he sees as too lax deportation practices and economic uncertainty. Although fewer people had come to Germany, “there are still very many here who actually have no right to stay,” Söder said. Those without a residence permit must be returned. “We are doing this very, very strongly in Germany now,” he stressed.
To weaken the AfD, a successful economic policy is also needed. Reforms must now be brought to completion to make the country competitive again. Söder warned: If, for example, car plants were closed, the path of a person without prospects to a radical decision would be “very easily possible.”
Source: www.welt.de
