Germany's conservative bloc backs Laschet ahead of first post-Merkel election

The state of play: Germany's conservatives — made up of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party in Bavaria, the Christian Social Union (CSU) — have seen their polling numbers slide amid a slow vaccine rollout and corruption scandals.

• General election polling had favored the more media-savvy Söder, the premier of Bavaria, over the Merkel ally Laschet.
• But after a weeks-long internal feud, Söder acknowledged on Tuesday morining: "The die is cast. Armin Laschet will be the chancellor candidate."

The big picture: Like Merkel, Laschet is seen as a champion of German industry who backs close economic ties with China and Russia, but "the tide is turning" on those issues, says Sudha David-Wilp of the German Marshall Fund.

• Laschet has come under scrutiny for his positions on allowing Huawei into Germany's 5G networks and maintaining good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• "We have to look at what he said in the past as a reflection of his role as the governor of a state with lots of business interests with China and Russia, but now he’s in a new role," David-Wilp says.
• "He'll still have to support German business, but voters in Germany are starting to see Russia and China in a new light."

Go deeper: Feud on center-right could help Greens succeed Merkel