Elections in Germany: pecked by a parrot, Merkel closes the campaign and begins to say goodbye to the political scene after 16 years

The outgoing German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, brought a unique touch of color to the middle of the sober campaign towards Sunday’s election, visit a bird park where he posed with half a dozen parrots.

Not happy with the food they gave him, one of the rainbow parrots pecked at the hand of the German sovereign, eliciting a theatrical cry from Merkel.

Merkel, what did not run for a fifth term, visited the Land of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Thursday to promote the candidate of the center-right Union bloc in the constituency he has occupied since 1990.

Germany is holding national elections on Sunday which will determine the composition of parliament. The stronger party usually ends up leading the new government and appoints a new chancellor, who must be confirmed by a majority of lawmakers.

Two days before the crucial legislative elections, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Friday to vote for her party’s CDU candidate Armin Laschet in order to maintain German “stability”.

“For Germany to remain stable, Armin Laschet must become Federal ChancellorMerkel said at a rally of her training in Munich ahead of Sunday’s election, which heralds a very close duel between the Social Democratic frontrunner and his right-wing rival.

“The question of who reigns in Germany is not trivial», Added the Chancellor, who will leave the political scene after 16 years at the head of the first European economy.

After staying out of the countryside, Over the past month, Merkel has spared no effort to support Laschet, an unpopular 60-year-old politician who has made many missteps.

On Saturday, he will accompany him at the end of the campaign in the stronghold of the candidate, in the city of Aachen, near the border with Belgium.

This Friday, Merkel also charged the SPD candidate, warning of the scenario of a victory for Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, who leads the polls. “Can you imagine a red-red-green government? he declared to the representatives of the CDU and the CSU, gathered in the largest city of Bavaria (south) for this last campaign meeting.

“Renewal”

For its part, Scholz called on Friday for a “renewal” and “a change of government” at his last major electoral rally in Cologne. (Where is).

“We need a renewal for Germany. We need a change of government and we want a government led by the SPD ”, said the Social Democrat, Minister of Finance and Vice-Chancellor of the outgoing government, which will end his campaign in Potsdam, where he aspires to win a deputy seat.

On your side, the environmental candidate, Annalena Baerbock, joined the climate demonstration in Cologne on Friday, before his last meeting in Düsseldorf.

The polls anticipate very close results on Sunday among the Social Democrats, with 25% of voting intention, and the conservatives (CDU / CSU), which rose to 23%. in the latest Civey poll, released Thursday. The Greens, after a campaign deemed disappointing, appear in the poll with 15% in intention to vote, ahead of the Liberal Party (12%).

In their electoral programs, the three candidates converted the protection of the planet in one of the main priorities of the next four years and they pledged to limit global warming to 1.5 ° C.

But the means to reach them vary from one to another. While the left relies on state intervention, the right prefers more action by the private sector.

Reacting to demands from environmentalists, Laschet noted that Germany “must continue to have a strong automobile industry, a steel industry, a chemical industry in 20 years”. “The climate does not benefit if companies relocate, because they will produce elsewhere in worse environmental conditions,” he added.

In Merkel’s shadow

Laschet, president of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was during the electoral campaign which ends today under Merkel’s shadow, that at the beginning he was very distant.

“We must take over from Angela Merkel so as not to spoil what has been achieved in 16 yearsLaschet said at the start of his speech at a rally in Munich, two days before the German general election on Sunday.

Merkel added that the Conservative bloc was decisive in the introduction of the euro, in German reunification and in European politics.

Laschet he was also supported by the Bavarian Prime Minister and head of the CSU, Markus Söder, who had contested the joint candidacy of the two parties and, from the moment the conservative bloc began to see itself at a disadvantage in the polls, he became one of Laschet’s main supporters.

“We will reverse the forecast. Germany cannot once again become a testing ground for left-wing ideas“Söder said.

(With information from EFE, AP and AFP)

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