Merkel is the best choice to lead Germany: Egyptian MP

CAIRO - 5 September 2017: Egypt monitors the German parliamentary elections that shall be held on September 24, Egyptian parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Chief Ahmed Saeed said on Tuesday.

Saeed told Egypt Today that the Egyptian parliamentary delegation which visited Berlin on November 25 played a key role in boosting bilateral relations, adding that Berlin listened to the Egyptian delegation’s advice on the “mechanism of dealing with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”

“Chancellor Angela Merkel is the best choice to lead Germany due to her rooted popularity and clear vision that the world is in need of at the current stage,” Saeed added.

He added that Marie Le Pen’s opinion was right when she announced, “Europe is ruled by a woman, Merkel in Germany or me in France.” Le Pen who was a former presidential candidate and the leader of the far-right French National Front Party (FN), affirmed many times Merkel’s decisive character that qualifies her to play an influential role in the European Union (EU).

Elections in Germany include elections to the Bundestag (Germany's federal parliament), the Landtags of the various states, and local elections.

Federal elections will be held in Germany on September 24, 2017 to elect the members of the 19th Bundestag. The new Bundestag will have to elect a chancellor with an absolute majority of its members, who will in turn form a new government.

The Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), led by Angela Merkel, has maintained a double-digit lead over the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in opinion polling since the 2013 elections, aside from a period in early 2017 following the selection of Martin Schulz as SPD leader.

Three weeks from voting day, center-left contender Schulz went on the offensive from the outset of the 97-minute debate on Sunday - his only televised duel with Merkel, who looked rattled at times but showed enough authority to win, Reuters said on Monday.