Already attacked as someone too soft on the likes of Bashar al-Assad, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping, new CDU leader Armin Laschet’s world view and foreign policy outlook is much in line with the German mainstream.

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has done more than most to put Germany’s armed forces, and the country at large, on a geopolitical course.

In the Winter 2021 Issue, we look at the EU as a potential player on the world stage.

At first glance, it seems simple: whoever wins the CDU leadership in January will then become the next German chancellor. However, there are still a few obstacles on the actual path to succeed Merkel.