Bavarian Leader Urges German Conservatives to Campaign More Actively

BERLIN (Sputnik) - Germany's ruling CDU/CSU bloc should campaign more actively ahead of the September 26 election, Bavarian premier and Christian Social Union chairman Markus Soeder said on Saturday.

"Tensions are growing, and will grow in the upcoming weeks. Everyone needs to understand - everything is at stake. This is not a question that we have been discussing for months - with whom we would want to govern together. This is not a question with whom we would want to form a government, but the question is whether we will enter the government. This is the hardest campaign since 1998, the ratings, as we can see, are not going up. And that is why, today matters. Nothing is lost, as some say. The time has come to finally start the fight. I do not want to go into opposition," Soeder told a campaign event in Berlin.

Along with Soeder, the campaign rally was attended by Conservative candidate for chancellor Armin Laschet and incumbent Angela Merkel, who is planning to retire from politics after the election.

"Hard times require a clear line, clear leadership; and this clear leadership can be provided by neither Olaf Scholz [current Vice-Chancellor and Social Democratic Party candidate for chancellor], nor by Mrs. [Annalena] Baerbock [Green party hopeful]," Soeder stated.

Only the CDU/CSU alliance led by Armin Laschet can offer strong leadership, according to the Bavarian premier.