Late satisfaction for Armin Laschet

World Kristian Frigelj 2 hrs ago | A comparison with Alemannia Aachen is tricky. Armin Laschet, as a soccer expert and FC Bayern fan, should actually know that. Alemannia hasn't played in the Bundesliga for a long time, but much further down, in the Regionalliga West, and is currently in 16th place. Nevertheless, Laschet says loudly into the microphone on Saturday at noon: "We always want to win, it's clear, just like Alemannia Aachen." Chancellor Angela Merkel and CDU/CSU candidate Armin Laschet will make their final campaign appearance in Aachen one day before the federal elections. Watch the event in full here. Source: WELT© WELT German Chancellor Angela Merkel and CDU/CSU candidate for chancellor Armin Laschet make their last campaign appearance one day before the federal election in Aachen. Watch the event in full here. Source: WORLD © AP The Union candidate for chancellor is standing on Burtscheider Platz in the Aachen-Burtscheid district, south of the main train station. His terraced house is nearby. Laschet grew up here, kindergarten, school, church, community center, pubs, fast food restaurant, the former fixed points of his life are only a few hundred meters away from this square. A few dozen CDU members sit under trees, protected by fences, behind them crowd several hundred onlookers, including critics. Laschet has come home the day before the election and brought Angela Merkel with him. She is expected to give Laschet's rumbling election campaign the final decisive push for her party. "Armin, Armin!" The CDU/CSU has been trailing in polls for weeks, most recently closing the gap on the SPD again, but Laschet's popularity ratings are abysmal. There is hope in the CDU/CSU that the pollsters are wrong, at least by a few percentage points. "Armin, Armin," shout the Christian Democrats in the square. It almost sounds like enthusiasm. A large gingerbread heart has "Chancellor from Aachen" written on it in sugar-coated lettering. The heart is pressed into the hands of small children, who show it to press photographers. A girl hands Armin Laschet a meaningful gingerbread heart Source: dpa© dpa A girl hands Armin Laschet a meaningful gingerbread heart Source: dpa Laschet has often experienced bad starting positions in his political life. He has often been underestimated. But never has it been so dramatic. In the event of a clear election defeat, he would be unstoppable as CDU party leader. It's not just a matter of his political survival in the federal government, but also of the CDU/CSU's power to govern. That's why Merkel has come back after all. Actually, she had wanted to keep a very low profile. After the resignation of CDU party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, she did not interfere in the succession, neither in the chairmanship nor in the selection of the candidate for chancellor. Laschet had to fight his way through with other supporters. Merkel always argued with her duty of neutrality as chancellor, but there are also reasonable suspicions in the CDU/CSU that she is deeply disappointed with the party. Laschet, in turn, came to terms in the meantime with the fact that Merkel would hardly help, and repeatedly emphasized that the chancellorship would have to be "fought for" on his own. SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz exploited the conspicuous distance between Merkel and Laschet. He embarked on a red reconquista, a recapture of Social Democratic issues, after the SPD had frequently complained in recent years that important decisions had always gone home with the chancellor and only boosted the Union. Scholz imitated Merkel's low-key, pragmatic carry-on style. He even put himself in front of the chancellor when there was criticism from the CDU/CSU about decisions made during her time in government. In doing so, he completely surprised the CDU. The head of government, too. The crash in the polls changed everything for the CDU/CSU. It has turned out to be a strategic fallacy that the chancellor and the candidate of the same party could act completely isolated next to each other. Angela Merkel made Laschet appear in the best light at the end of the election campaign in Aachen Source: dpa© dpa Angela Merkel made Laschet appear in the best light at the end of the election campaign in Aachen Source: dpa Since the beginning of September, Merkel has now suddenly become very intensively involved. It is also about preserving the legacy, indeed the interpretive sovereignty of her 16-year reign. Merkel surprisingly campaigned in the Bundestag, where she warned against a red-red-green government.