Reeling German CDU leader taps diverse team to reboot campaign

FILE PHOTO: Armin Laschet, the premier of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia state and the Christian Democrats' candidate for chancellor, takes part in a televised election debate in Berlin, Germany, August 29, 2021. Michael Kappeler/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - The leader of Germany's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) presented a diverse "team of the future" on Friday, turning to the lieutenants to help reboot his flagging campaign ahead of a Sept. 26 national election that he is at growing risk of losing.

Armin Laschet, whose conservatives have slipped behind the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) in polls, said the eight-strong group of four women and four men, one of them black, represented the diversity of Germany and his conservative bloc.