Reeling German CDU candidate looks to lieutenants for help

FILE PHOTO: Armin Laschet, CDU/CSU candidate for Chancellor, CDU Federal Chairman and Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, speaks at the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, August 25, 2021. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi

BERLIN (Reuters) - The conservative candidate to succeed German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to pick five close allies to champion a key policy theme each in an effort to revive his campaign ahead of the Sept. 26 election, party sources said on Monday.

Armin Laschet, leader of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), lost a heated televised debate https://reut.rs/3Dto5Y0 with his two main rivals on Sunday, according to a snap poll, as surveys show his party falling behind the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).