Merkel takes on hard-right in final German vote push

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her beleaguered rival Martin Schulz embark on a final push for votes yesterday ahead of a weekend election, both seeking to beat back a challenge from the emboldened hard-right, reports AFP.

The 63-year-old Merkel, who polls say will cruise by a double-digit margin to a fourth term on Sunday, will rally supporters in the southern city of Munich, at the height of the Oktoberfest beer festival. Schulz, 61, a former European Parliament president and leader of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), will take to the stage in a central Berlin square in a last-ditch attempt to turn the race in his favour.

Despite Merkel’s commanding lead, the latest polls point to storm clouds on the horizon.

The anti-immigration, anti-Muslim party Alternative for Germany (AfD) looks set to easily clear the five-percent hurdle to representation in parliament in a historic post-war first. The prospect of some 60 MPs from a nativist outfit branded “real Nazis” by Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel taking seats in the Bundestag lower house has added urgency and angst to what had long been dismissed as a suspense-free campaign.

“Go vote and vote for the parties that are 100 percent loyal to our constitution,” Merkel told Germans in a swipe at the AfD. “We have to take a clear stance when it’s about our basic values.”

The AfD is currently polling at between 11 and 14 percent, deeply unsettling the mainstream parties that have governed Germany since the war. A strong showing for the AfD could eat away at Merkel’s lead. With her CDU and its Bavarian sister party CSU on between 33 and 36 percent, they risk hurtling toward their worst-ever score (35.1 percent in 1998).

 

Merkel takes on hard-right in final German vote push

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her beleaguered rival Martin Schulz embark on a final push for votes yesterday ahead of a weekend election, both seeking to beat back a challenge from the emboldened hard-right, reports AFP. The 63-year-old Merkel, who polls say will cruise by a double-digit margin to a fourth term on Sunday, will rally supporters in the southern city of Munich, at the height of the Oktoberfest beer festival. Schulz, 61, a former European Parliament president and leader of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), will take to the stage in a central Berlin square in a last-ditch attempt to turn the race in his favour. Despite Merkels commanding lead, the latest polls point to storm clouds on the horizon. The anti-immigration, anti-Muslim party Alternative for Germany (AfD) looks set to easily clear the five-percent hurdle to representation in parliament in a historic post-war first. The prospect of some 60 MPs from a nativist outfit branded real Nazis by Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel taking seats in the Bundestag lower house has added urgency and angst to what had long been dismissed as a suspense-free campaign. Go vote and vote for the parties that are 100 percent loyal to our constitution, Merkel told Germans in a swipe at the AfD. We have to take a clear stance when its about our basic values. The AfD is currently polling at between 11 and 14 percent, deeply unsettling the mainstream parties that have governed Germany since the war. A strong showing for the AfD could eat away at Merkels lead. With her CDU and its Bavarian sister party CSU on between 33 and 36 percent, they risk hurtling toward their worst-ever score (35.1 percent in 1998).