That should be exactly what she actually no longer wanted. A totally rainy, cold evening, but Angela Merkel has to go to the rally in the old market in Stralsund. The Chancellor wanted to stay out of the election campaign, only two larger appearances were planned. But the CDU and CSU have messed up their lead in the polls, Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet needs every support, so he has made an appointment with the woman whose office he wants to take over for a joint appearance in her constituency. Merkel is now on the stage in front of the town hall, protected by a plexiglass roof, of course, but without a coat, and she could certainly imagine many places where it would be more cozy now, or at least warm.
The place is well filled when Merkel steps up to the lectern. She has a blue folder with her, apparently with a few notes, Merkel has completed enough election campaigns to know that little worse can happen than to forget the name of a candidate or the entire candidate. And there are many candidates here, because Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is not only about to have federal but also state elections. That is why the event is also a support for the CDU top candidate Michael Sack, although he is even further behind Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig than Laschet is behind Olaf Scholz.
She is happy, says Merkel, to be able to show Armin Laschet a piece of Stralsund. As Federal Chancellor, however, he would have to come back in daylight and better weather. For the next few minutes, Merkel will speak here in a dual role as Chancellor and MP for the constituency that she was allowed to represent for more than 30 years. She praised the interaction between the federal government and the region, especially in the period since 2005, that is, in her chancellorship, “an unbelievable amount has been achieved”. And Laschet will “continue this course”.
The condemnation of a threatening red-red-green coalition follows. In the spirit of Laschet, Merkel enumerates all the taxes that such an alliance would like to increase instead of returning to a “course of solid economic activity”. You can read about that in the election manifestos, says the Chancellor, and takes a quick look at the desk as if she had all the bad papers lying there. Instead, however, the economy must be helped, especially after the corona pandemic. Because she knows that Armin Laschet, as Prime Minister in North Rhine-Westphalia, is fighting for every job, she can say that a Chancellor Laschet will also take care of this region. She repeats the same motif for internal security.
A speech limited to the bare essentials
Merkel spoke for less than ten minutes, objectively and not overly committed, when she finally warned that next Sunday’s elections would be about a lot. And that’s it. A speech that is limited to the bare minimum, because Merkel of course knows that the speech is not important, but the shared images. Dozens of cameras and photographers stand under rain covers and plastic sheeting in front of the stage, as well as several broadcast vehicles from television stations. They are supposed to convey the impression of unity of the Union via satellite into the country.
Laschet has also slimmed down a lot. If his standard speech otherwise lasts a good half an hour, he needs ten minutes that evening. He talks about the post-corona economy, vaccination and corona deniers. He recalls the young man in Idar-Oberstein, who was shot by a man for asking him to wear a mask, and calls for all forms of aggression to be “abandoned”. A little tax policy, a little climate neutrality and then a few big words about the Chancellor: Merkel’s 16 years were “a terrific achievement”. And although she had so many obligations, she always looked after the region. Since the G8 summit in Heiligendamm at the latest, the whole world has known Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. People could be proud of such an MP.
And that’s it, Angela Merkel’s return to a marketplace where she never really wanted to go again. At least not to campaign in bad weather.