German chancellor candidates visit flood-hit region

Two of Germany's top candidates to replace Angela Merkel as chancellor this fall — North Rhine-Westphalian State Premier Armin Laschet and Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz — have been touring parts of western Germany devastated by recent heavy floods.

Scholz, who is from the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and currently serves as vice chancellor, said rebuilding the region would no doubt "devour several billion" euros.

Standing alongside Laschet, who runs the state, Scholz said, "Federal and state funds are ready," claiming reconstruction could start immediately.

Laschet, who is a member of Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), chimed in, "The federal and state governments will get it done together." But, he added, things in the region will never be the same, stressing the need to make communities "flood resistant."

What did Scholz say?

"Whatever can be fixed with money, we'll fix with money," said Scholz, who estimated the cost of the floods could surpass €6 billion ($7.12 billion).

"We'll probably need much more to deal with reconstruction," he added.

Scholz said the federal government would also put a moratorium on bankruptcy filings for businesses affected by the floods, much as it has done throughout the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

For all the talk of money, the finance minister also acknowledged the government could not fix the broken lives nor the catastrophic damage done to the hearts and minds of people in the region.

Why is Laschet's popularity waning?

Scholz's electoral star has been rising of late, thanks in part to Laschet's failing popularity. Laschet has faced increasing criticism for his handling of the flood crisis, as well as dealing with fallout from embarrassing PR missteps.

On Monday, Laschet was berated by angry locals who called him a "loser," saying he would, "find out what voters thought" of his crisis management this fall, as he toured Swisttal, near Bonn.

Recent polls have seen Scholz surging ahead slightly as coverage of the floods takes attention away from most other issues and shines a light on Laschet's leadership skills in a difficult situation.

In an RTL Trendbarometer poll published Tuesday, 21% of Germans said they would prefer to vote for him as opposed to 15% for Laschet and 18% for Green party candidate Annalena Baerbock.

Last week, a ZDF Politbarometer poll found that 34% wanted Scholz to be chancellor ahead of Laschet with 29% and Baerbock with 20%. The same polling, however, showed the CDU and the Greens comfortably ahead of the SPD. 

js/nm (AFP, dpa)