“Scenes of an old marriage”

After the TV debate between conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel and her social-democratic challenger Martin Schulz in the run-up to the German election on 24 September, Merkel was largely seen as more convincing, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports.  In a debate that sidestepped many important topics, notably energy and climate policy, the two candidates whose parties have governed Germany together for the past four years were often seen as old colleagues rather than rivals, the article says. “It could be expected that Merkel was not going to show any drive for change, but also Martin Schulz lacked impulses for true social and ecologic transformation,” the Green party’s top candidate Katrin Göring-Eckardt said.

Find the article in German here and an overview of reactions to the TV-debate in German here.

Get background on the German election campaign and the energy and climate policy issues in the Clean Energy Wire dossier.