Merkel's bloc pledges stability, renewal in German election

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s center-right bloc is pledging to boost the economy without raising taxes and make the country “climate-neutral” by 2045 without endangering jobs in its program for the September election that will determine who succeeds long-time Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The Union bloc on Monday became the last major political force to set out its stall for the Sept. 26 parliamentary election. The other two parties fielding candidates for the chancellery, the environmentalist Greens and the center-left Social Democrats, unveiled their programs in March.

The bloc — made up of the Christian Democratic Union of Armin Laschet, who is running to become Germany's next leader, and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union — released its program at a time when polls show it back in the lead. It had fallen behind the Greens earlier this year amid discontent with a slow start to Germany's coronavirus vaccination campaign, a scandal over some lawmakers' involvement with lucrative mask procurement deals and squabbling over who would seek the top job.

Its manifesto is titled “the program for stability and renewal” — reflecting the challenge of building on the popularity of Merkel, who long since decided not to seek a fifth four-year term, while also offering something new.

“We want to make our country faster, more efficient and more digital,” Laschet said. “Germany must become a leader in new technologies, our country belongs at the top on climate protection and it must become better able to resist pandemics, cyberattacks, populism, extremism and economic crises.”

“Our offer is that we will combine climate protection with economic strength and social security,” he said. “We will make Germany a climate-neutral industrial country with good and secure jobs.” The Union pledged...