Our best years may be over, warn rivals for Merkel’s crown

"(...) Yet surveys can be deceptive. Experts believe that the contest will go down to the wire and may even turn out in Mr Merz’s favour under a voting system dominated by conservative-leaning local politicians. “This could mean there is a slight advantage for the candidates who can be placed on the right wing of the CDU and in particular for Friedrich Merz,” Marc Debus, of the University of Mannheim’s centre for European social research, said. (...)"