Merkel supplemented by Spahn as Germany’s most popular politician

Photographer: Michele Tantussi / AFP / Getty Images

German Health Minister Jens Spahn has taken over as Chancellor Angela Merkel as the country’s most popular politician, a poll showed on Sunday, highlighting his potential as future leader of Europe’s largest economy.

Spahn, 40, has long been seen as a rising star in Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and is widely regarded as an important contributor to the relatively successful management of the coronavirus pandemic in Germany.

According to the Kantar poll in the newspaper Bild, 52% of respondents said that Spahn should play an important role in German politics in 2021, compared to 28% by the end of 2019. Merkel’s approval was 51%, 11 percentage points higher than the previous year.

“Spahn is clearly the winner of the year,” said Bild Torsten Schneider-Haase of Kantar. “From the point of view of the people, he cuts a positive figure on the policy on coronavirus.”

Merkel retires after the next election in September 2021 after more than a decade and a half in power. The CDU will elect a new leader and possible chancellor candidate at a virtual congress next month.

Spahn has the support of Armin Laschet, the premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, while Friedrich Merz, a longtime rival of Merkel, and Norbert Roettgen, a former minister of environmental affairs, are also participating.

The winner is likely to be the Conservative bloc’s candidate to succeed Merkel next year, although Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder, head of the CDU’s sister party in the southern state, could be asked to step in.

According to the Kantar poll, Soeder is the third most popular politician at 50%. Minister of Finance and Vice-Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the candidate for the Social Democrats, was fourth at 47%, Merz achieved 37% in sixth place, Laschet 31% in eighth and Roettgen 29% in ninth place.

While Spahn has thrown his support behind Laschet, there is a chance he could be exploited to serve as the Conservative candidate for chancellor if he sees the best chance of winning the election.