Merkel pips Schulz in poll debate

Bloomberg

Angela Merkel’s election opponent, Martin Schulz, failed to score a
decisive breakthrough in their only televised debate as the chancellor stood firm on her record, insisting that controversial decisions on keeping the country’s borders open for refugees and striking a deal with Turkey were right.
Trailing badly in the race to determine Germany’s next leader, Schulz repeatedly failed to pin down Merkel on issues from pensions and a
more socially just economy to Europe’s dealings with the US under Donald Trump. He also struggled to differentiate his policy positions from those of the Christian Democratic chancellor.
One flash poll released after the debate found that Merkel won, while a second called it a draw. Schulz said it was a “good night” in a Twitter post. But with the onus on the challenger to land blows and mark himself out, even a marginally better-than-expected performance suggests that his last best chance to claw back lost ground before the Sept. 24 vote may have passed him by.
“The expectations on Schulz were low; he exceeded them a bit, but he didn’t finish the debate as a victor,” Holger Schmieding, the chief economist at Berenberg, said in an interview. The differences between the candidates “were not very great,” he said, adding: “This won’t be enough for Schulz to gain a large number of undecided voters.”
The Social Democratic Party leader attacked Merkel early in Sunday’s nationally televised clash for failing to press other European Union countries to accept more refugees. As the 90-minute live encounter settled down, there were none of the kind of fireworks seen in US debates and few
fundamental gulfs in opinion emerged between the two candidates on
topics such as dealing with Trump and
responding to North Korea’s
hydrogen-bomb test.
Relations with Turkey produced some of the sharpest rhetoric, with Merkel and Schulz competing to take a hard line against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the arrests of German citizens. Both called for economic pressure and a halt to EU membership talks with Turkey, while upholding Europe’s refugee accord with the country. “The only language Erdogan understands is an unyielding stance,” Schulz said.
Merkel said Turkey “is moving
away from democratic practices
at breathtaking speed” and said she would lobby fellow EU leaders to
formally end stalled accession
talks, though she emphasized she
has no intention of breaking off
diplomatic relations.