Merkel’s shoes too big for next Chancellor Laschet?

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Merkel and after

Angela Merkel has reigned like a colossus over the German and European political scene for the past 16 years and there is no German politician who can take her place when she leaves in political scene this September. Armin Laschet, the premier of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and Chancellor candidate of Merkel‘s Christian Democrats (CDU), hopes to take over from Merkel but he does not have the gravitas and statesman/woman aura that Merkel has.

Laschet, who at 1.72 metres is short-statured for a German politician, is often compared to a clown by his competitors. And this reputation for not having enough gravitas and clowning around was given a fillip recently when he was accused of laughing inappropriately in one of the towns that was devastated by the recent floods in western Germany.

The CDU politician was caught laughing in the background of a video of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeie, who was addressing citizens and reporters in Erfstadt, one of the worst-hit areas in NRW.

As Steinmeier was expressing his grief at the loss of life and property, Laschet laughed and joked around with his companions in the background. His laughter, however, was short-lived as outrage poured on social media and the hashtag #Laschetlacht (Laschet laughs) became the top trending topic on Twitter. The incident was discussed across German media.

He had to tender a public apology and look on as Angela Merkel visited the flood areas some days later and showed him how it is done. She consoled the residents of the regions hit by the floods, found the right words and kept a serious and empathetic demeanour throughout. Not a tall order for a politician but things that the future German Chancellor, by the looks of it, would have to train himself for.

The writer-columnist is based in Bonn and has been a keen observer of German politics and society