Center-right seeks boost in Bavaria ahead of German election

The center-right Union bloc’s candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor sought the support Saturday of skeptical Bavarian allies 15 days before Germany’s national election

BERLIN -- The center-right Union bloc's candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor sought the support Saturday of skeptical Bavarian allies 15 days before Germany's national election, in which polls indicate the party could get its worst result since World War II. The Bavaria-only Christian Social Union has grumbled for months that its own leader would have been a stronger candidate than the Christian Democrats' Armin Laschet to lead the two sister-parties into the Sept. 26 election. After emphasizing his support for federalism over centralized rule — a traditional concern in wealthy Bavaria — Laschet attacked the center-left Social Democrats' candidate Olaf Scholz, who is Germany's current finance minister and vice chancellor. He repeated claims that the Social Democrats would be weak on security and took a swipe at his rival's handling of several financial scandals, citing a police raid Thursday on the ministry that Scholz has suggested may have been politically motivated.