Laschet loses the backing of the Bavarian CSU and is left increasingly alone

Armin Laschet / EFE

Söder, leader of the Social Christians, congratulates Scholz and denies government mandate for conservatives

One more nail in the political coffin of Armin Laschet, the conservative aspiring to the head of the German government, and this time hammered down by his inseparable partners in southern Germany. The Prime Minister of Bavaria and leader of the Social Christian Union (CSU), Markus Söder, on Tuesday clearly distanced himself from his “older brother” and president of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) by publicly recognizing the triumph of the Social Democratic candidate (SPD) to the Federal Chancellery, Olaf Scholz, expressly congratulate him and affirm that “he is the one who has the best chance of becoming Federal Chancellor”, as the clear winner of the legislative elections this Sunday in Germany. Meanwhile and subjected to a growing wave of internal criticism, Laschet desperately seeks to save his political hide and insists on giving himself the same mandate as the SPD to immediately negotiate a government coalition with other parties despite losing the elections and leading his party to the most overwhelming electoral defeat in history. The president of the CDU has not yet had the diplomatic gesture to congratulate Scholz.