New CDU leader lags Bavarian premier in race to succeed Merkel

FILE PHOTO: The new elected Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader Armin Laschet wears a face mask with the CDU logo, at the end of the party's 33rd congress held online amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Berlin, Germany January 16, 2021. Odd Andersen/Pool via REUTERS

BERLIN (Reuters) - Armin Laschet, the new leader of Germany's Christian Democrats, has yet to convince voters he would be a better choice than Bavarian premier Markus Soeder to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel after elections in September, a poll showed on Monday.

Centrist Laschet positioned himself on Saturday as the man to heal divisions among Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) after party delegates chose him to lead the party, putting him in pole position to succeed her as chancellor.