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Germany

Who could succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor?

Angela Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU bloc is yet to decide on its top candidate for the 2021 general election. The SPD has already done so. And the Greens - currently second in the polls - have two potential candidates.

  • Armin Laschet (picture-alliance/dpa/G. Fischer)

    Armin Laschet

    CDU chairman Armin Laschet, a staunch supporter of Angela Merkel, heads Germany's most populous state. Conservatives routinely underestimated the jovial 59-year-old, famous for his belief in integration and compromise. But recently, his liberal non-interventionist instincts have led to him eating his words more than once during the coronavirus crisis.

  • Markus Söder with cross on office wall (picture-alliance/dpa/P. Kneffel)

    Markus Söder

    The bookmakers' favorite: Bavaria's 54-year-old state premier from the CDU's more conservative Bavarian sister party, the CSU, has profited in opinion polls from his tough line in the fight against the coronavirus. "Bavaria is strong. Bavaria will grow. Bavaria is solid. Bavaria is safe... and it will stay that way," the former journalist said at the beginning of his tenure in 2018.

  • Olaf Scholz (Imago Images/R. Zensen)

    Olaf Scholz

    Plumbing new depths with each election, the SPD decided to run a realist rather than a radical as their top candidate in 2021. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, a former mayor of Hamburg, and Merkel's deputy in the grand coalition, is seen as dry and technocratic. Many in his party say the 62-year-old is unlikely to energize party activists and win their hearts.

  • Jens Spahn (picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler)

    Jens Spahn

    Health Minister Jens Spahn, the Christian Democrats' rising star, has benefitted from the publicity he gained during the coronavirus pandemic, but also come under criticism. Openly gay, married, still only 40, with strong English skills. Spahn teamed up with Armin Laschet for the CDU leadership race — but he has not said explicitly that he has no ambitions for the chancellorship.

  • Robert Habeck (picture alliance/dpa)

    Robert Habeck

    51-year-old Robert Habeck, an enthused and passionate speaker, can match the tone and energy of the climate movement in a way many German politicians cannot. But like so many with the gift of the gab, his speeches tend to meander off-topic. Habeck has a Ph.D. in philosophy and was a novelist and children’s author before entering politics almost 20 years ago.

  • Annalena Baerbock (picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler)

    Annalena Baerbock

    At the age of 41, Annalena Baerbock has been a Green Party co-chair since 2018. A jurist with a degree in public international law from the London School of Economics, her supporters see her as a safe pair of hands with a better grasp of detail than Habeck. Her opponents point to her lack of governing or ministerial experience and her occasional gaffes in interviews.


  • Armin Laschet (picture-alliance/dpa/G. Fischer)

    Armin Laschet

    CDU chairman Armin Laschet, a staunch supporter of Angela Merkel, heads Germany's most populous state. Conservatives routinely underestimated the jovial 59-year-old, famous for his belief in integration and compromise. But recently, his liberal non-interventionist instincts have led to him eating his words more than once during the coronavirus crisis.

  • Markus Söder with cross on office wall (picture-alliance/dpa/P. Kneffel)

    Markus Söder

    The bookmakers' favorite: Bavaria's 54-year-old state premier from the CDU's more conservative Bavarian sister party, the CSU, has profited in opinion polls from his tough line in the fight against the coronavirus. "Bavaria is strong. Bavaria will grow. Bavaria is solid. Bavaria is safe... and it will stay that way," the former journalist said at the beginning of his tenure in 2018.

  • Olaf Scholz (Imago Images/R. Zensen)

    Olaf Scholz

    Plumbing new depths with each election, the SPD decided to run a realist rather than a radical as their top candidate in 2021. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, a former mayor of Hamburg, and Merkel's deputy in the grand coalition, is seen as dry and technocratic. Many in his party say the 62-year-old is unlikely to energize party activists and win their hearts.

  • Jens Spahn (picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler)

    Jens Spahn

    Health Minister Jens Spahn, the Christian Democrats' rising star, has benefitted from the publicity he gained during the coronavirus pandemic, but also come under criticism. Openly gay, married, still only 40, with strong English skills. Spahn teamed up with Armin Laschet for the CDU leadership race — but he has not said explicitly that he has no ambitions for the chancellorship.

  • Robert Habeck (picture alliance/dpa)

    Robert Habeck

    51-year-old Robert Habeck, an enthused and passionate speaker, can match the tone and energy of the climate movement in a way many German politicians cannot. But like so many with the gift of the gab, his speeches tend to meander off-topic. Habeck has a Ph.D. in philosophy and was a novelist and children’s author before entering politics almost 20 years ago.

  • Annalena Baerbock (picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler)

    Annalena Baerbock

    At the age of 41, Annalena Baerbock has been a Green Party co-chair since 2018. A jurist with a degree in public international law from the London School of Economics, her supporters see her as a safe pair of hands with a better grasp of detail than Habeck. Her opponents point to her lack of governing or ministerial experience and her occasional gaffes in interviews.


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