Armin Laschet – Merkel’s shoes tough to fill

Armin Laschet, the centrist continuity conservative candidate, has become Angela Merkel’s successor as leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union. He may or may not lead the party in the German elections on 26 September as candidate for chancellor. A recent poll indicated only 28% of Germans surveyed thought he had the calibre for the job. His approval ratings fell during the pandemic because of lackadaisical leadership and charges of nepotism over PPE procured from a fashion company that also employs his son to model its clothes. He has raised eyebrows in the past over his dislike of “anti-Putin populism” and his sympathetic comments about Syria’s Bashar Assad.   

  Born 18 February 1961, he’s a Sun Aquarius opposition Uranus with a Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Capricorn.   He will have tr Pluto in a successful conjunction to his Jupiter just before the September election and from late November onwards, though tr Pluto will at the same time conjunct his Saturn which tends to be discouraging. Tr Jupiter will oppose his Uranus on Election day which could hand him a dollop of luck, in a small way; and he has upbeat tr Uranus square his Sun/Jupiter midpoint before the election and again in November.

  It’s possible he could do reasonably well. Though he’s no Merkel. Her Jupiter is conjunct the Germany Midheaven and her Sun Uranus sit in the German 10^th house. Her relationship chart with Germany has a power-couple Jupiter Pluto conjunction 

But he could be popular enough with his Moon Venus falling in the Germany 7^th and his Sun in the Germany 5^th.  Though there’s an awkwardness about his Jupiter Saturn sitting in the Germany 4^th opposing the Uranus – differing agendas. His relationship chart with Germany is very up and down. A positive Pluto square Jupiter; a stuck-with-him and resenting-it Saturn Pluto; a disruptive Mars Uranus; and an evasive Sun Neptune.

Pic: Olaf Kosinsky