Merkel's party readies campaign to keep Germany's top office

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party has presented a campaign for Germany’s September election that portrays would-be successor Armin Laschet as a conciliatory, experienced leader

BERLIN -- Chancellor Angela Merkel's party on Tuesday presented a campaign for Germany's September election that portrays would-be successor Armin Laschet as a conciliatory, experienced leader and mixes classic center-right themes with portraying the fight against climate change as an economic opportunity. The Christian Democratic Union's campaign to hold on to Germany's top public office after Merkel's 16-year tenure will take account of the continuing coronavirus pandemic, the party's general secretary, Paul Ziemiak, said. Door-to-door campaigning will take place “perhaps more at the garden fence” this time, Ziemiak said, and there will be hybrid offline-online events rather than crowds of thousands at indoor rallies. “We must set an example by keeping to what we expect of others,” he said.