German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and opposition leader Friedrich Merz appeal to voters in the run-up to Sunday’s election.
Published On 22 Feb 2025
German politicians made their final appeals to voters on Saturday on the eve of crucial snap elections in which conservatives are the frontrunners and the far right is forecast to make gains.
Election frontrunner Friedrich Merz from the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party on Saturday promised to revive Europe’s largest economy and defend Europe’s interests in the face of a confrontational US administration.
Merz said, “With me, Germany will have a strong voice in the European Union again.”
“Europe must be a player and not ask maybe to get a seat at a side table,” he told a jubilant crowd in Munich.
“No, we must sit at the main table; and we must safeguard our interests against Russia, against China, and if necessary also with respect to America.”
“Europe must be a player and not ask maybe to get a seat at a side table,” he said, adding, “No, we must sit at the main table.”
However, he said, “We will only gain respect in this European Union again if we finally overcome our country’s economic weakness.” Which he added was “overwhelmingly homemade”.
The CDU party is currently leading polls and holding 30 percent.
Sunday’s vote comes at a time of upheaval for both Europe as a whole and its biggest economy, specifically, as US President Donald Trump has ended a united Western stance on the Ukraine war by reachin