On Sunday, German’s will go to the polls to vote for the 2021 Bundestag, with Chancellor Angela Merkel standing down after 16 years in power. Mr Laschet, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader, has been tipped as Ms Merkel’s successor but is not set for a majority.
Traditionally, German parties form a coalition after the Bundestag is completed, with the party with the most seats putting forward a Chancellor.
However, polling says the CDU looks set to lose their status as the biggest party in the Bundestag after 16 years, with Olaf Scholz from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) tipped to become Chancellor.
According to a Forsa poll for RTL/n-tv television, the SPD’s support is at 25 percent compared to the CDU/CSU’s 22 percent.
The German Greens were on 17 percent, the Free Democrats (FDP) at 11 percent, the far-right AfD at 11 percent and the anti-capitalist Left party at 6 percent.
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Reports from The Pioneer suggest Mr Laschet wants to forge a ‘Jamaica coalition’, meaning the CDU would enter a Government with the FDP and Green Party.
Mr Laschet is believed to want this form of Government even if the party has less seats the SDP, which would make him Chancellor over Mr Scholz.
The Pioneer claimed Mr Laschet thinks this would work because of his close relationship with FDP leader Christian Wolfgang Lindner.
Mr Linder said to Reuters in May he thinks the FDP will be “kingmakers” in the election, adding: “Many constellations are conceivable.
“There is a high probability that we will play a role.”
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The Pioneer also reported Mr Scholz has also negotiated a potential coalition with Greens leader Annalena Baerbock.
The outlet suggested Ms Baerbock and Mr Scholz would make a ‘traffic light coalition’ with Mr Linder’s FDP.
In order to make such a coalition palatable to the FDP, the Green and SPD are believed to be prepared to completely abolish solidarity supplements and scrap plans for a wealth tax among other proposals.
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On Tuesday, Ms Merkel campaigned on behalf of the CDU and Mr Laschet in Stralsund.
She said: “There is a lot at stake on Sunday.
“It is about whether we stick to the course of moderation and centrism … or whether we make policy that only thinks about distribution (of wealth).”
The outgoing Chancellor also argued a left-wing coalition could not deliver solid public finances.
Germans have expressed doubts Mr Laschet, Ms Merkel’s continuity candidate, can take over from the Chancellor.
German newsweekly Der Spiegel ran a cover story entitled Das Laschet Disaster, which accused the CDU candidate of several strategic errors such as a bitty political agenda, a lack of a coherent narrative about what he wants to do with the top job in German politics, and a lack of focus.
The outlet said: “Laschet acts as if he was waiting to inherit Merkel’s power – and not to win support and votes.”
Speaking to news outlet DW, Madeline Baron, a 23-year-old care worker from the small nearby city of Neubrandenburg, said: “I really don’t know who I’m going to vote for. I’m a steadfast CDU supporter, but not of Laschet.”
Anne Ehrich, a 71-year-old retiree from Hamburg, added: “Maybe (Merkel’s) also not so convinced by him.”
Additional reporting from Monika Pallenberg