Armin Laschet in Berlin on 16 January.
Photographer: Christian Marquardt / Pool / Bloomberg
Photographer: Christian Marquardt / Pool / Bloomberg
Supporters of the man who could become Germany’s next leader rushed to defend him after his heterodox views on foreign policy raised questions about his credentials to succeed Angela Merkel.
Merkel’s newly elected Christian Democratic leader, Armin Laschet, incorrectly tweeted in 2016 that the Obama administration had supported the militant Islamic state in Syria. Two years before, after Russia’s incursion into Crimea, Laschet criticized a wave of “marketable anti-Putin populism” that spread across Germany.
“I don’t agree with the critics who say Laschet has an underdeveloped foreign policy profile,” party ally David McAllister, head of the European Parliament’s external committee, told reporters on Tuesday. “Armin Laschet has my full support.”
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As party leader, Laschet is on pole position to run as a candidate for chancellor in the September elections. If he succeeds in winning the chancellery, he will deal regularly with US President-elect Joe Biden on a range of security issues, from the Middle East to Russia. After Biden’s victory, Laschet rushed to congratulate him, praising the result as proof that the elections can still be won without a populist campaign.
“Armin Laschet is a staunch European and also knows the United States,” said McAllister. “Of course, there may be differences of opinion between Europeans and Americans on certain topics.”
The CDU cannot afford to take another misstep. The country’s most populous state chief was elected party leader on Saturday after Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, handpicked by Merkel as his successor two years ago, stepped aside after a series of gaffes.
Chancellor candidate
Although the party leader generally becomes the candidate for chancellor of the conservative bloc in Germany, this measure is not automatic this time. The Bavarian CSU sibling party will have an important say in the decision, and Markus Soeder, the leader of the Christian Social Union, is currently well ahead in the polls.
And in reality, the United States has little to fear from Laschet, analysts say. Describing Laschet as “no foreign policy expert”, Berenberg’s chief economist, Holger Schmieding, said he hoped he “would continue Merkel’s foreign policy”.
“Laschet defends the continuity of the Merkel government,” said McAllister. “Our American partners can now prepare for this.”
Laschet’s office was not immediately available for comment.