The final challenge between Olaf Scholz and Friedrich Merz is being played out remotely, between Potsdam and Munich, one in the east and the other in the west of the country. Germany is going to the polls increasingly divided, with Alice Weidel's far-right party taking over TikTok , as in the former Laender of the GDR.
Scholz, the Social Democratic Chancellor who according to polls is at the end of his political career, is showing no signs of giving up and would continue to aim for victory. While CDU leader Merz, who is just a step away from the Chancellery , has assured: "I will give Germany a strong voice in Europe."
A solid and stable government in Berlin is what many observers believe is needed, especially while from overseas Donald Trump is surprising Europeans and Volodymyr Zelensky, who is on the latest cover of Spiegel with the title "betrayed". Even within the Republic there is a demand for a more incisive policy, in a scenario made even darker by the succession of attacks : the last Friday evening, of anti-Semitic origin, was committed in the heart of the capital, among the famous steles of the Holocaust memorial, by a nineteen-year-old Syrian who wanted to "kill Jews". Attacks that can favor the far right.
"I don't believe in miracles but in victory," said Scholz, who is counting on the undecided, a fifth of the 59 million eligible to vote , which is no small number. "I am convinced that this time too, many will decide at the ballot box," he said. Many will choose the SPD and "we will be strong enough for me to continue to lead the country." Scholz has contradicted Trump on several occasions, on peace in Ukraine, as well as on claims towards Greenland and Canada, and today he assured "firm positions."
Merz (CDU) insisted: "As Federal Chancellor I will again be an active part of shaping European policy, Germany will have a strong voice in the EU and I will respect our interests in Europe with Europe. We must be at the main table, we must assert our interests vis-à-vis Russia, China and if necessary also the USA."
