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At the end they stand on the little stage set up on the outskirts of the historic market square of Lübeck and sing the national anthem. Angela Merkel sings robustly, CDU Secretary General Hermann Gröhe moves his lips just a little, and together with the local bigwigs of the party, they look out over a crowd of 2,000, getting up from their little benches. It’s the end of a campaign rally, a rally like no other party in Germany puts on.
Only the Christian Democrats hold on to this national finale tradition. It shows a last spark of the conservative attitude, which used to distinguish the CDU, but has now been quite lost under their leader, Angela Merkel. Some supporters regret that. This public commitment to the country may go some way to reconciling them.
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Television
Showdown duel
On Sunday, September 1, Angela Merkel will face her rival, Social Democratic candidate Peer Steinbrück during their only televised debate during the campaign. It will "probably be the last chance for Steinbrück to to reverse the trend and turn the election in his favour," notes Spiegel
According to recent polls, published in Die Welt the gap between the two "remains significant, but Steinbrück gained seven points in popularity." At the moment 28 per cent back Steinbrück compared to 54 per cent for Angela Merkel. As for their parties the Chancellor’s Christian Democratic Union is thought to have 41 per cent of the vote, against 26 per cent for the Social Democratic Party.
Mindful of the challenge, Steinbrück has unveiled a new action plan, involving the introduction of a minimum wage and a maximum tax rate of 49 per cent.
A conversation with investigative reporters Stefano Valentino and Giorgio Michalopoulos, who have dissected the dark underbelly of green finance for Voxeurop and won several awards for their work.
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