Guardian Jan. 10, 2021

The Guardian view on the CDU after Merkel: a fork in the road | Editorial

The re-emergence of Angela Merkel as Europe’s most durably competent politician has been one notable by-product of the Covid pandemic. After a rocky period at the polls, when her CDU party suffered a number of stinging regional defeats, Germany’s chancellor stepped down as its leader in 2018. At the same time, Ms Merkel announced she would not stand in federal elections due this autumn. But her calm authority and strategic clarity during the current crisis have led to stellar approval ratings of 70%. Following a serious pre‑Covid decline in the polls, the CDU, and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, have benefited from a knock-on effect. Far ahead of the Greens, their closest rivals, Germany’s Christian Democrats go into election year with an all but unassailable lead.