(ANSA-afp) - BERLIN, APR 12 - The head of German Chancellor
Angela Merkel's CDU secured the backing of the party's top brass
on Monday in a key boost for his campaign to succeed the veteran
leader at elections in September. As head of the CDU, Armin
Laschet would normally be a shoo-in to lead the party and the
CSU, its smaller Bavarian sister party, to the polls on
September 26 -- when Merkel will retire after 16 years as
chancellor. But with public support for the conservatives
tumbling over their recent handling of the coronavirus pandemic,
some have called for Laschet to step aside in favour of Markus
Soeder, the more popular CSU leader. However, after a key huddle
of party heavyweights on Monday, Volker Bouffier, the state
premier of Hesse, said the senior CDU members have expressed
"clear support" for Laschet. "We consider him to be
exceptionally suitable and have asked him to discuss the way
forward with Markus Soeder," Bouffier told reporters in Berlin,
adding that the parties would aim to make a final decision
"within a week". (ANSA-afp).
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