Germany: Lashet is confident that he will be chosen as the conservative candidate to succeed Chancellor Merkel

The president of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Armin Laschet, said he is confident that he will get the party's approval to become the conservatives' candidate for chancellor in the upcoming parliamentary elections, despite competition from Bavarian Markus Zeder, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU).

The presidency of the CDU, Angela Merkel's party, should meet today to determine the first direction, after the official announcement this weekend of the candidacy of two politicians for that race.

Asked if he will have the support of the majority of the party, Lašet told Bild television last night that he "starts from the principle that this will be the case", although he does not want to prejudge the outcome.

"I know what the presidents of the regional alliances" of the party who participate in that governing body think, Lašet said, but also added that he does not want to speak in advance and that he should wait to see what will happen.

Laschet's main rival among the conservatives is the head of the sister Bavarian CSU Zeder, who yesterday officially announced his candidacy for the representative of the conservatives for the future chancellor.

Zeder, however, said he would enter the chancellor race only if the CDU, a much stronger party at the national level, asked him to.

The CDU leadership is expected to decide on this within the next two weeks.

Laschet, who leads the country's largest state, North Rhine-Westphalia, must win the support of his party if he is to be the leader of the conservative list in the September 26 election.

He would then have a good chance of succeeding Merkel, according to the latest polls, although support for conservatives in Germany has fallen in recent weeks.

The CDU leadership will not make an official decision on its candidate for chancellor today, but it could indicate the trend after the first round of voting during the meeting.

Barring some surprises, the party should support its president, or risk taking away the credibility of the entire movement, reports German media.

However, when it comes to popularity, according to polls, Lašet lags behind its competitor Zeder.