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Merkel squares up to Schulz in rival's last-ditch bid to save campaign Merkel clashes with Schulz in TV debate as her rival hopes to claw back support
(about 11 hours later)
Angela Merkel is to face off against Martin Schulz in a television debate being billed as her Social Democrat rival’s last chance at saving his election campaign. Angela Merkel clashed with her Social Democrat rival Martin Schulz on Sunday night in a lively television debate widely seen as the last opportunity for the Social Democrats (SPD) to claw back support before the general election in three weeks’ time.
Schulz, who has accused the chancellor of lulling voters to sleep by offering noncommittal responses, will spar with her over 90 minutes in their only televised one-on-one before Germans vote on 24 September. With the latest polls showing Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and her partners in Bavaria’s CSU leading by between 15 and 17 points over the SPD, but, with half of voters said to be undecided, the primetime face-off was seen as Schulz’s best chance to influence the outcome and prevent a fourth term for Merkel.
With many voters still undecided, Schulz is pinning his hopes on the primetime showdown, hoping to sway millions to his cause and halt a devastating slide in his popularity. The candidates sparred for over 90 minutes on topics ranging from migration and foreign policy to social justice and home security in what was their only televised confrontation before Germans go to the polls on 24 September.
The former European parliament chief enjoyed a surge in support shortly after taking the helm of the SPD in January, only to see the initial excitement fade away. One in five of Germany’s 60 million voters said before the debate that it could help decide how they would place their vote. Between 20 and 30 million were expected to tune in to the event, which was broadcast simultaneously on four channels, and was broadly seen as the highlight of what has so far been a low-key campaign.
A poll published on Friday showed Merkel’s CDU party and its Bavarian CSU allies commanding a 17-point lead over the SPD. Schulz, who has blamed Merkel for a dull election campaign in which he said she had pacified voters with equivocal answers to some of their most pressing questions, was swift to have a dig at the German chancellor over aspects of her open door policy two years ago, which led to almost a million migrants coming to Germany.
Sunday evening’s encounter will be above all a clash of personalities – an illustration in the newspaper Die Zeit showed Schulz dressed in workman’s overalls, holding a saw and trying to dismantle the throne of a regal “Queen Merkel”. The migration issue quickly became the focus of the debate, with Merkel forced on to the defensive when Schulz accused her of failing to involve Germany’s EU partners in the decision. Merkel responded by saying she had had little choice and that she was unable to contemplate a situation where she would have closed Germany’s borders. She admitted while mistakes had been made she would take the same decision again.
Schulz has has said is not nervous about Sunday’s clash. Merkel, who has mostly avoided referring to Schulz or any other candidate by name, has so far refused to be drawn into a combative debate. Other tense moments focused on growing inequality in Germany, with Schulz accusing Merkel of ignoring concerns over growing living costs, including rising rents and sinking wages, and criticising the government for its continued support for the car industry despite the scandal over diesel emissions.
“If an election campaign is defined as good only when people insult each other, then that’s not my idea of what an election campaign is about,” she said at her annual summer press conference. He also took the opportunity to repeat the SPD’s rejection of the CDU’s plans to double Germany’s defence budget.
Her attitude has led German media to dub Schulz a shadow-boxerfor his frustrated attempts to engage her. But his main challenge proved to be distancing his SPD from Merkel’s CDU, despite the fact that the two parties have been in grand coalitions together twice under Merkel’s leadership, first between 2005 and 2009 and again during the past four years. Despite Schulz’s attempts to draw distinctions between them, their opinions frequently sounded very similar.
The TV debate is expected to draw almost 30 million viewers or about half of the electorate, according to a poll by research firm Forsa, commissioned by Stern magazine. In a photo montage, newspaper Die Zeit had depicted Schulz dressed as a workman gleefully waiting to saw into the throne of a queen Merkel, despite the lack of expectation that he will manage to topple her from her position as Europe’s longest-serving leader. He had been billed as a potential successor to her as recently as January this year, when his decision to stand as the SPD’s candidate initially proved highly popular.
Crucially, one in five who plan to tune in also said the debate could swing their vote, the survey found. Schulz, the former European parliament chief, with a 23-year career in European politics behind him, appeared relaxed and clubbable. Merkel was typically composed, but occasionally appeared impatient towards the four presenters and the questions they put to her.
The two candidates will discuss topics given to them by four presenters, and beyond the content of the debate they will be scrutinised for their body language. Viewers polled after the duel found Merkel significantly more convincing than Schulz. Some 55% said Merkel was the stronger candidate, compared with 35% for Schulz. Measured on those poll figures, this was the strongest performance for Merkel in all the TV duels she has participated in since 2005.
Days before the event, the chancellery was accused of rigging the format in Merkel’s favour by threatening to stay away after the broadcasters proposed changes aimed at fostering more spontaneity and a deeper debate. Before the debate her office had been criticised for determining the rules of its format after she threatened to boycott it if the broadcasters carried out their plans to change it to introduce more profundity and a more relaxed style. Political observers said a more laid-back debate could benefit Schulz, who scores points for his man-of-the-people image, compared with Merkel’s schoolteacher demeanour.
Defending her office, Merkel told Spiegel magazine that while she respected press freedom, “a politician should also be free to decide whether he or she accepts an invitation to appear on a programme”. Several hundred journalists gathered at the TV studio in Adlershof in east Berlin were intensively briefed before and after the debate by advisers, from both the Merkel and Schulz camps in recognition of how decisive the encounter could prove for the election’s outcome.
Forsa’s CEO, Manfred Guellner, told the business newspaper Handelsblatt: “The TV du el format, like spontaneity and eloquence, is not quite Merkel’s strength.” Schultz could benefit from appearing on the show, he said. According to the weekly newspaper Die Zeit, the TV duel will decide “whether the end of the debate marks the final whistle for the campaign, or the kick-off for an exciting three weeks”.
A poll published late on Thursday by the public broadcaster ARD found that 64% of those surveyed believed that Merkel would prevail, while only 17% believed Schulz would win the debate. Pollsters watching the confrontation closely have said it could prove crucial for the estimated half of the electorate who have yet to decide how they will vote. One pollster said 17% would vote “according to their stomachs”, with many being swayed by how sympathetic they found the candidates, with clothes and body language counting as important factors, as well as whoever appeared more authentic.
During her last TV debate four years ago against SPD’s Peer Steinbrück, the major talking point on talk shows and social media was not the contents of the discussion, but Merkel’s necklace, a striking chain in the colours of the German national flag. This time she chose an inconspicuous silver necklace to accompany a royal blue blazer. Schulz wore a plain blue tie and navy jacket.
Before the debate 64% of viewers said they believed Merkel would perform better than Schulz, who was supported by only 17%.