Germany's Laschet urges CDU board to back him for chancellor, sources say

Laschet and Markus Soeder, who leads the CDU's Bavarian sister party CSU, have been at loggerheads over who is better placed to become the candidate to lead the conservative alliance, dubbed 'the Union', to an election victory. Speaking to members of the CDU's federal executive committee, Laschet said he was ready and willing to take on the role, according to participants of the virtual meeting.

The chairman of Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU), Armin Laschet, urged senior party members on Monday to end a week-long stand-off and back him as the ruling conservative bloc's candidate for chancellor in the Sept. 26 national election, participants said.

With Chancellor Angela Merkel stepping down after the election, pressure is mounting on the conservatives to agree on a candidate as its ratings wallow near a one-year low, hurt by the chaotic handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Laschet and Markus Soeder, who leads the CDU's Bavarian sister party CSU, have been at loggerheads over who is better placed to become the candidate to lead the conservative alliance, dubbed 'the Union', to an election victory.

Speaking to members of the CDU's federal executive committee, Laschet said he was ready and willing to take on the role, according to participants of the virtual meeting. "Today is the day to decide," Laschet was quoted as saying at the beginning of the session. "I encourage you to have an open debate."

Laschet said his recent talks with conservative rival Soeder had been good and that the CSU chairman had made clear earlier on Monday that he would accept the decision of the CDU federal executive committee, the sources said. "This is a very important signal," Laschet was quoted as saying.

But after three hours of discussion, Laschet struggled to put an end to the debate and push for a final vote which supporters of Soeder tried to delay, participants said. Polls suggest that Soeder is more popular than Laschet, so the prospect of losing votes with Laschet as the candidate for chancellor has divided his own CDU party.

The disarray in the conservative camp was in contrast to the opposition Greens who on Monday, with no internal wrangling, named their co-leader Annalena Baerbock as their first candidate for chancellor in the party's 40-year history. The conservatives retain a narrow lead in polls over the Greens, but the leadership rift threatens to harm their efforts to prolong their 16-year-old hold on power without Merkel, who has won them four consecutive victories.

Laschet, 60, is widely seen as a candidate who would continue Merkel's legacy, though he has clashed with her over coronavirus restrictions. Soeder is an astute political operator who has sided with Merkel during the pandemic. No chancellor has ever come from the CSU.

A Forsa poll last week put support for the conservative alliance at 27%, ahead of the Greens at 23%.