Contenders tout credentials in close vote to replace Merkel

By FRANK JORDANS and GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — The contenders to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor have sought to mobilize voters as the election campaign neared its close, touting their credentials to lead Europe’s biggest economy into a new era as it grapples with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and climate change. Merkel is stepping down after 16 years in power, and the race is wide open ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary election. Polls show the outgoing leader’s center-right Union bloc, with Armin Laschet as its candidate for chancellor, a little behind or nearly level with the center-left Social Democrats of Finance Minister Olaf Scholz. The Greens, with Annalena Baerbock making their first run for chancellor, are trailing in third.