BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday lauded her party’s candidate Armin Laschet as the best choice to succeed her, as polls showed the gaffe-prone Rhinelander still trailing badly ahead of this month’s election.
Laschet, the chancellor candidate for Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc, was long the favorite to be the next German leader, but his ratings have plummeted following a series of missteps.
The frontrunner is now Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, whose center-left Social Democrats (SPD) are enjoying a late spurt in the final weeks before the Sept. 26 vote.
“It is a special election, not only because no incumbent chancellor is running for reelection for the first time since 1949,” the outgoing Merkel said in what was likely her last speech in parliament ahead of the vote.
“It is also a special election because it is a decision on the direction of our country in difficult times — and it is not irrelevant who governs this country,” she said.
“The best way for our country is a CDU/CSU-led federal government with Armin Laschet as chancellor, because his government would stand for stability, reliability, moderation and centrism.”
Merkel, who is retiring after 16 years in power, did not get involved in the race to pick a candidate from her party to run in the elections.
But with the Christian Democrats’ poll ratings plummeting to their lowest in the post-war period, the party is now encouraging as many joint appearances as possible between Merkel and Laschet.
A poll for the NTV broadcaster published on Tuesday showed the conservative alliance on just 19 percent, with the SPD out ahead on 25 percent and the Greens— an early favourite in the race — on 17 percent.
The CDU/CSU bloc won 33 percent at the last election in 2017 under Merkel, who remains immensely popular with the public.
Merkel appeared alongside Laschet at a digital summit on Monday, and also accompanied him at the weekend on a tour of two towns hit hard by deadly floods in July.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, where Laschet is the regional premier, Merkel told reporters he was “leading the largest state in Germany very successfully.”
Laschet’s reponse to the floods in his state was the beginning of a downward slide for the 60-year-old, after he was caught on camera joking with local officials during a tribute to flood victims.
If the alliance’s fortunes don’t improve soon, it could crash out of government in favour of an SPD-led alliance — most likely with the Greens and either the liberal FDP or the far-left Die Linke.
Scholz has been under pressure to rule out working with Die Linke, which refuses to recognize NATO and voted against the German army’s recent rescue effort in Afghanistan.
The SPD leader on Tuesday insisted that “we have to work for a strong sovereign Europe that is able to take its own affairs into its own hands”, which he said would “only be possible in the NATO alliance”.
But Laschet called on him to go further and reject collaborating with Die Linke, saying voters had a right to know whether he intended to “call these people into a potential federal government.”
The CDU-CSU would “do everything to ensure that there is no red-red-green alliance in Germany,” he said, referring to the colours of the SPD, Die Linke and the Greens.
Merkel also urged voters not to choose a left-wing coalition.
“Citizens will have the choice of either a government of the SPD and the Greens that accepts the support of the Linke party -- or at least does not rule it out -- or a federal government that leads our country into the future with moderation and balance,” she said.
Merkel goes all out for Laschet as party lags in polls
https://arab.news/2dm3g
Merkel goes all out for Laschet as party lags in polls
Stranded in paradise: Mideast war traps thousands in Bali
- Limited flights from UAE begin as governments seek to extract citizens from Middle East
- At least 4,400 people had flights to Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi canceled between Saturday and Monday
DENPASAR, LONDON, BERLIN: Passengers stranded on the Indonesian resort island of Bali clamored for flight news on Tuesday as the outbreak of war in the Middle East grounded planes and turned a tropical holiday dream into an ordeal for many.
Hundreds were crowded at Ngurah Rai International Airport, many dressed in shorts, flip-flops and summer dresses, their expressions dour.
Many sat on the floor, exhausted, and one man repeatedly hit a wall in frustration. “I just kind of want to see my family ... right now it’s a bit stressful,” British tourist Adam Woo, transiting through Bali after holidaying on the neighboring island of Lombok, said. The 23-year-old student said he saw the missiles start flying on the news “and I was a bit worried about my flight” — especially after Dubai airport was hit in Iran’s response to a US-Israeli attack.
“Obviously, everyone around the world at the moment is kind of stuck,” said Woo. “All the travel agencies are swamped with people calling in. So, it’s literally impossible to even get on the phone with someone.”
He said he was looking for an alternative flight via China.
Around Woo, many at the airport were lugging around heavy luggage with slumped shoulders, frustration etched on many a face.
Many queued on foot and on chairs outside information centers hoping for news on replacement flights, receiving occasional briefings with little news.
The airport’s immigration office said in a statement at least 4,400 people had flights to Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi canceled between Saturday and Monday.
With would-be passengers at risk of overstaying their visas, the Bali immigration office introduced a same-day emergency stay permit free of charge for affected foreigners.
Thirty-five have applied so far, according to immigration head Felucia Sengky Ratna.
Airports company Angkasa Pura said 15 flights from Bali to Doha and Abu Dhabi, and vice versa, have been canceled between Saturday and Monday.
National carrier Garuda Indonesia has grounded all flights to Doha until further notice.
Meanwhile, stranded travelers began departing the UAE aboard a small number of evacuation flights on Monday, even as most commercial air traffic across the Middle East remained suspended.
The limited flights out of Dubai and Abu Dhabi took place as the US State Department urged its own citizens in 13 countries, including UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon and Oman, to “depart now via commercial means due to serious safety risks.”
Sweeping airspace closures and flight cancelations across the region left many fewer options for heeding the advice.
The State Department has evacuated non-emergency personnel and families in six nations, adding the UAE to its list on Tuesday.
In Italy, the government has assisted with flights to Milan and Rome in the wake of mounting criticism against Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.
The minister sparked a political controversy at home after being stuck in Dubai with his family during the initial phase of the attack on Iran.
Crosetto returned to Rome on Sunday on a military aircraft. The left-wing opposition has called for Crosetto’s resignation, saying he should not have traveled to the Middle East during a crisis.
