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Angela Merkel’s health minister mulling a run for chancellor: Reports
Jens Spahn, whose standing among voters in Germany has risen during the coronavirus pandemic, has been sounding out party colleagues to gauge support for the move, Der Spiegel magazine reported Friday.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn is considering a run to take over from Angela Merkel as chancellor, local media reported, as competition to succeed her after September’s election heats up.
Spahn, whose standing among voters has risen during the coronavirus pandemic, has been sounding out party colleagues to gauge support for the move, Der Spiegel magazine reported Friday, citing six unidentified officials from Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union. Bild newspaper also reported that Spahn is mulling a bid for the chancellor candidacy.
The 40-year-old has long been considered a rising star in Merkel’s conservative bloc and one poll last month showed he had moved ahead of her to become the nation’s most popular politician.
A protege of former Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, Spahn made a name for himself with attacks on Merkel over her handling of the euro crisis and her migrant policy. He put his hat in the ring in 2018 as a candidate for CDU leader, and although he came in third, his run was well received by the party and the media.
According to a Kantar poll in Bild last month, 52% of those surveyed said Spahn should play a major role in German politics in 2021, up from 28% at the end of 2019. Merkel’s approval rating was 51%, up 11 percentage points from the previous year.
Since then, however, criticism has swirled around the start of Germany’s Covid-19 vaccination program, putting Spahn under pressure. Merkel was drawn into the controversy after a June letter from Spahn was leaked to Bild. The message to the European Commission indicated that the German leader was behind the strategy to hand off vaccine procurement to the bloc.
The fallout could hurt his chances. An infratest dimap poll for ARD television published Thursday showed his approval rating had dropped by eight points to 56%, the lowest since May last year, though he held on to second place behind Merkel on 72%.
The chancellor will step down following the next election in September after 16 years in power. The CDU will elect a new leader -- who will have a strong say in the chancellor candidacy -- at a virtual congress next week in a tight three-way race.
Spahn has backed Armin Laschet to become CDU chief, but the premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia has faltered in recent months. Friedrich Merz, a long-time Merkel rival, and Norbert Roettgen, a former environment minister, are also running.
The winner could step aside to allow Spahn to run as chancellor if he’s seen as having the best chance of winning the election. Spiegel said that Laschet rejected handing the chancellor candidacy to Spahn. Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder from the CSU sister party is also a leading contender to become the bloc’s chancellor candidate.
Spahn is in regular contact with party member to gauge the mood before the convention and support Laschet and the party, an unidentified health ministry spokesman told Spiegel.
Laschet said Friday he did not think that the controversy over Spahn’s handling of the vaccine program would affect his own candidacy for CDU leader.
“Jens Spahn is one of the popular German politicians,” Laschet said on ARD television. “But in the crisis it gets bumpy sometimes -- there are problems, the vaccine doesn’t come as quick as you think or whatever. He’s doing a good job.”
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