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POLITICS: Frontrunner to succeed Merkel as chancellor on back foot after flood disaster

From criticism of his climate policy to a woefully ill-timed bout of laughter, the deadly floods in western Germany have exposed weaknesses of frontrunner Armin Laschet in his bid to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Published: 23 July 2021 13:39 CEST

POLITICS: Frontrunner to succeed Merkel as chancellor on back foot after flood disaster

Armin Laschet and Chancellor Angela Merkel visiting flood regions earlier this week. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa Pool | Oliver Berg

Find all our coverage on the flood disaster HERE

As the death toll from the flooding has risen to more than 170 in Germany, Laschet’s response has revived a longstanding debate over his suitability to fill fellow conservative Merkel’s shoes when she retires after September’s election.

In a recent poll by the Civey institute for Spiegel magazine, only 26 percent of 5,000 respondents said they considered Laschet to be a good crisis-manager.

Laschet, who is currently state premier in Germany’s most populous state North-Rhine Westphalia, had already faced criticism for his hesitant, u-turn-prone handling of the pandemic.

And with his own state one of the worst-hit regions by last week’s deluge, he is now under fire for his gaffe-marred response to the disaster.

‘Communications disaster’

“Laschet took some time to find the right tone” after the floods hit, Hans Vorlaender, political scientist at Dresden’s Technical University, told AFP.

He pointed to a “communications disaster” over images that emerged last week.

The 60-year-old candidate was caught on camera convulsed in laughter with local officials as German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the foreground paid homage to the flood victims.

German president Steinmeier delivers a sombre speech about help for communities devastated by floods while in background CDU chancellor candidate Armin Laschet appears to laugh himself silly about some joke:pic.twitter.com/gaGtqnLG8w

— Jeremy Cliffe (@JeremyCliffe) July 17, 2021

Though he later apologised for his “mistake”, Laschet faced fierce criticism online and in the German media.

“Does the supremely self-controlled Merkel really trust this man, who has shown no self-control, with her job?” demanded Der Spiegel weekly.

“It is no laughing matter! If Laschet wants to be chancellor, he has to be able to manage crises. This would not have happened to Merkel,” wrote Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel.

While the veteran leader has long been praised for her steely nerves under fire, Laschet has often shown “a lack of determination”, Vorlaender told AFP.

“In general, politicians show what they are capable of in times of crisis,” he said, pointing not only to Merkel, but also to her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder, who impressed voters with his hands-on response to floods ahead of his re-election in 2002.

In a survey this week for the Forsa institute, meanwhile, Laschet and Merkel’s CDU/CSU alliance was polling two points lower than the previous week on 28 percent.

By Friday, however, a poll for public broadcaster ARD showed the conservatives up a point to 29 percent.

*Armin Laschet visiting flood-hit Bad Münstereifel earlier this week. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Oliver Berg*

Climate debate

With a lead of around 10 points ahead of the opposition Greens party in second place, Laschet is still the strong favourite to succeed Merkel.

In recent months, he has benefited from a collapse in support for the Greens, whose initially strong campaign was hit hard with a series of missteps by co leader and candidate Annalena Baerbock.

Yet the floods have slowed his march to victory and returned climate policy to the top of the agenda just two months before the election.

The ARD poll showed 81 percent of Germans seeing a need for stronger action to protect the climate.

“The floods have shown the urgent need for climate policies,” wrote Der Tagesspiegel, while Merkel herself called for “speeding up” the fight against climate change as she leaves the stage.

“Laschet needs to set clear goals and go beyond what is in the conservatives’ manifesto,” Vorlaender said, as natural disasters become more frequent due to global warming.

Merkel’s ruling right-left coalition tightened its emissions targets in May to put the country on course for carbon neutrality by 2045.

Bavarian state premier Markus Söder, who mounted a fierce challenge against Laschet for the conservative candidacy in the spring, has increased the pressure by setting an ambitious goal of phasing out coal by 2030 – eight years ahead of deadline set by the federal government.

As premier of a coal-dominated region, Laschet has been considerably more cautious on climate issues.

And that has not been lost on voters. In a Civey poll on Wednesday, just 26 percent said they believed Laschet would provide effective climate protection policies.

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Output is expected to expand 0.3 percent this year, the economy ministry said, up from a prediction of 0.2 percent in February.

The slightly rosier picture comes after improvements in key indicators — from factory output to business activity — boosted hopes a recovery may be getting under way.

The German economy shrank slightly last year, hit by soaring inflation, a manufacturing slowdown and weakness in trading partners, and has acted as a major drag on the 20-nation eurozone.

But releasing its latest projections, the economy ministry said in a statement there were growing indications of a “turning point”.

“Signs of an economic upturn have increased significantly, especially in recent weeks,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference.

The ministry also cut its forecast for inflation this year to 2.4 percent, from a previous prediction of 2.8 percent, and sees the figure falling below two percent next year.

“The fall in inflation will lead to consumer demand — people have more money in their wallets again, and will spend this money,” said Habeck.

“So purchasing power is increasing, real wages are rising and this will contribute to a domestic economic recovery.”

Energy prices — which surged after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — had also fallen and supply chain woes had eased, he added.

Several months ago there had been expectations of a strong rebound in 2024, with forecasts of growth above one percent, but these were dialled back at the start of the year as the economy continued to languish.

‘Germany has fallen behind’

But improving signs have fuelled hopes the lumbering economy — while not about to break into a sprint — may at least be getting back on its feet.

On Wednesday a closely-watched survey from the Ifo institute showed business sentiment rising for a third consecutive month in April, and more strongly than expected.

A key purchasing managers’ index survey this week showed that business activity in Germany had picked up.

And last week the central bank, the Bundesbank, forecast the economy would expand slightly in the first quarter, dodging a recession, after earlier predicting a contraction.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) presents the latest economic forecasts at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, April 24th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

Despite the economy’s improving prospects, growth of 0.3 percent is still slower than other developed economies and below past rates, and officials fret it is unlikely to pick up fast in the years ahead.

Habeck has repeatedly stressed solutions are needed for deep-rooted problems facing Germany, from an ageing population to labour shortages and a transition towards greener industries that is moving too slowly.

“Germany has fallen behind other countries in terms of competitiveness,” he said. “We still have a lot to do — we have to roll up our sleeves.”

Already facing turbulence from pandemic-related supply chain woes, the German economy’s problems deepened dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine and slashed supplies of gas, hitting the country’s crucial manufacturers hard.

While the energy shock has faded, continued weakness in trading partners such as China, widespread strikes in recent months and higher eurozone interest rates have all prolonged the pain.

The European Central Bank has signalled it could start cutting borrowing costs in June, which would boost the eurozone.

But Habeck stressed that care was still needed as, despite the expectations of imminent easing, “tight monetary policy has not yet been lifted.”

In addition, disagreements in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition are hindering efforts to reignite growth, critics say.

This week the pro-business FDP party, a coalition partner, faced an angry backlash from Scholz’s SPD when it presented a 12-point plan for an “economic turnaround”, including deep cuts to state benefits.

Christian Lindner, the fiscally hawkish FDP finance minister, welcomed signs of “stabilisation” in the economic forecasts but stressed that projected medium-term growth was “too low to sustainably finance our state”.

“There are no arguments for postponing the economic turnaround,” he added.