The prospect of a three-way coalition also indicates arduous and drawn out negotiations with many months before a new government is formed. Germans vote for their members of parliament, who then choose the chancellor once the coalition is agreed. Until then, the current government, led by Merkel, will continue to carry out its official duties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the possible variations, it is highly unlikely the outcome will result in a drastic departure from Merkel\u2019s stance on climate change or relations with China, as all major parties advocate fairly similar policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All three candidates claim to be firmly committed to making the country climate-neutral by 2045, the official government target, but a closer look reveals significant differences in their approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social Democrat Olaf Scholz<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In the final stretch of the election campaign, German finance minister and vice chancellor Olaf Scholz has become the clear favourite to succeed Merkel. Polling a distant third just a few months ago, he now enjoys the highest approval ratings of the three candidates. If Germans could elect the country\u2019s next chancellor directly, more than 40% would vote for Scholz, compared to less than 20% for the conservatives\u2019 Laschet and the Greens\u2019 Baerbock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many voters believe the 63-year-old Scholz, who served as employment minister in a previous Merkel cabinet, best embodies her cherished virtues of caution and stability. Most credit him for a solid record as finance minister, where he calmly oversaw Germany\u2019s massive funding package to help businesses and workers during the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scholz has not yet made a name for himself in energy and climate policy, but he has promised an \u201cimmediate fresh start\u201d after the elections. He called for a focus on expanding renewables, including a new law<\/a> to ensure industry has enough renewable electricity to decarbonise over the coming decades. \u201cAs chancellor, I will ensure we pick up speed in the first year,\u201d Scholz said in an interview last month, adding that he plans to accelerate approval procedures for wind turbines and other investments in renewable energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scholz\u2019s party, the SPD<\/a>, is open to speeding up Germany\u2019s coal phase-out, currently set for 2038, and plans on embracing some controversial climate decisions such as a general speed limit on German motorways. The party emphasises that climate protection measures must be socially compatible and should also promote the economy. \u201cFor the SPD, climate protection is an industrial project, not a re-education course,\u201d Scholz said, suggesting voters won\u2019t have to face significant behavioural changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, environmentalists question Scholz\u2019s climate convictions. He has on occasion ranked industry concerns<\/a> higher than environmental issues, and suggested<\/a> Germany should stick to its existing timetable for phasing out coal. \u201cWe have made clear agreements that are important for the companies, for the workers, and also for the region. And these agreements apply and should be respected,\u201d Scholz said during a campaign stop in East Germany\u2019s coal mining region.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to climate scientists, Germany will need to phase out coal by 2030 at the latest to achieve its climate targets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Scholz also rejected a Green Party proposal to increase the price of CO2 transport emissions faster than currently planned. \u201cThose who now simply keep turning the fuel price screw show how little they care about the needs of the citizens,\u201d Scholz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n As far as China is concerned, Scholz is expected to continue Merkel\u2019s accommodationist policies. His party has led the foreign ministry under Merkel\u2019s chancellorship, and Scholz has defended<\/a> the 2020 investment deal between China and the EU that she helped negotiate. However, he has been vague on future China policies, and criticism of Beijing has grown within his party.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Armin Laschet started out as the heir-apparent to fellow conservative Merkel, but his CDU party has plummeted in the polls following a lobbying scandal, accusations of mishandling the pandemic, and his clumsy reaction to the deadly floods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The 60-year-old premier of Germany\u2019s largest federal state, the traditional industry and coal mining heartland North Rhine-Westphalia, is a Merkel loyalist who is in favour of continuing her centrist course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the uncharismatic Laschet struggles to motivate his party base, which faces the challenge of keeping former Merkel voters on board while quelling an internal power struggle over the CDU\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though he has been an ardent supporter of Germany\u2019s planned transition to a hydrogen-based economy, Laschet\u2019s reputation in climate policy is dominated by his pro-industry positioning in the country\u2019s coal exit negotiations, and his regional government\u2019s heavy-handed eviction of a protest camp against coal mining. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Laschet \u2013 who has invoked his father\u2019s job as a coal miner to emphasise his working-class background \u2013 has been criticised for his generous stance on granting coal companies comfortable compensation payments and his defence of a newly opened coal plant<\/a>. He has warned<\/a> against curtailing Germany\u2019s economic opportunities through \u201cexcessive\u201d climate action that scares industrial companies away with high power prices and tight regulation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Regarding China, Germany\u2019s most important trading partner, Laschet is expected to keep to Merkel\u2019s course. Laschet has been critical<\/a> of China but has emphasised the importance of the two country\u2019s \u201cbusiness relationships, scientific relationships, technological relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Annalena Baerbock is her party\u2019s first ever candidate for chancellorship, but after a brief lead in the polls earlier this year, the Greens have fallen behind Scholz\u2019s Social Democrats and Laschet\u2019s CDU. Baerbock apologised for mistakes that were at least partly to blame for the drop in her party\u2019s popularity: having to clarify her public curriculum vitae several times, and failing to directly declare some payments from her party in her role as party leader. But even if the Greens don\u2019t win, polls indicate they will likely form a part of Germany\u2019s future government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Baerbock is a 40-year-old career politician with a reputation for prudence and diligence but without any government experience. As a climate expert and member of parliament for the eastern German coal state of Brandenburg, she gained recognition during Germany\u2019s coal exit negotiations. In contrast to her competitors, she has a reputation for being \u201cmedia-savvy and charismatic\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her nomination speech, Baerbock said she wants to make climate action \u201cthe yardstick for all sectors\u201d in order to fulfil the Paris Agreement. \u201cClimate action is the task of our time, the task of my generation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Greens’ election manifesto is the most ambitious on climate of the major parties. It calls for a coal exit and a ban on sales of new cars that emit CO2 by 2030, as well as 100% renewables in power consumption by 2035. The Greens have also proposed<\/a> a climate ministry with the power to veto other ministries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Germany\u2019s climate movement, which includes student protest movement Fridays for Future, has accused the Greens<\/a> of not doing enough to limit global warming to 1.5C.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFor the SPD, climate protection is an industrial project, not a re-education course.<\/blockquote><\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Christian Democrat Armin Laschet <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Demonstration](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/germany-coal-mine-protest-china-dialogue.jpg\")
<\/div>The Greens\u2019 Annalena Baerbock<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Greens have proposed a climate ministry with the power to veto other ministries.<\/blockquote><\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n