Who is Markus Söder, Bavaria’s premier?
CSU chairman Markus Söder was long seen as a strong contender to replace Angela Merkel as a conservative chancellor. But after a power struggle with CDU head Armin Laschet, he stepped aside.
Markus Söder heads the Christian Social Union
Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder bowed out of the contest to be the conservative CDU/CSU bloc s candidate to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany s September general election. The die is cast. Armin Laschet will be the CDU/CSU s candidate for chancellor, Söder told a press conference in Munich. This brought to an end what was seen as an acrimonious power struggle, during which Söder and his growing number of supporters pointed to the CSU chair s better performance in opinion polls, which could make him a more competitive candidate.
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The leadership of Angela Merkel s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has backed its head Armin Laschet as the conservative bloc s candidate for chancellor in the upcoming German federal elections, dpa reported.
Laschet was backed by 31 CDU national board members and nine voted for his rival Markus Soeder, head of the CDU s Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), a party spokesman announced early Tuesday. There were six abstentions in the late Monday vote after more than six hours of deliberation.
Together, the CDU/CSU conservative bloc - which is currently in coalition government with the Social Democrats (SPD) - traditionally chooses a single candidate for chancellor.
Laschet Grabs Lifeline in Fight to Succeed Merkel in Germany msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Can Germany s Greens step into Merkel s shoes?
Climate protection, foreign policy
In terms of policy, the Greens have remained largely true to their 40-year-old founding principles: Environmental protection, especially the fight against climate change, remains central to their election program, where the party says it wants to cut greenhouse gases by 70% by 2030, a major target extension compared to the current government s plan, which aims to achieve a 55% reduction.
To meet this target, it will have to accelerate Germany s energy transition to renewables, to ensure a rapid expansion of renewable energies and put more electric cars on the roads. The other parties want all of this, too, but the Greens will have to struggle to achieve their high standards.
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The law included a five-year rent freeze for all units built as recently as 2013, and a rent hike cap based on the property’s age plus 1.3 percent inflation. (iStock)
A German court struck down a transformative Berlin rent law that not only capped rents citywide, but in some cases lowered them.
The court voided the law Thursday, saying the federal government had already passed rent legislation within the jurisdiction, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Berlin passed its law in February 2020, and shortly after it was challenged in court by around 284 legislators, including members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union.