Conservative Laschet struggles for momentum in German leadership race

FILE PHOTO: North Rhine-Westphalia's State Premier, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader and candidate for chancellor Armin Laschet speaks as he holds a news conference after a CDU leadership meeting, in Berlin, Germany, September 20, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - Armin Laschet has been betting that his credentials as a tried-and-tested manager will make up for what critics call a lack of charisma in the contest to become Germany's chancellor.

Yet days before a national election in which Laschet is the conservatives' candidate, his Social Democrat rival, Olaf Scholz, appears to be beating the centrist premier of Germany's most populous state at his own game.