This documentary presents detailed profiles of the three main candidates who are in the running to succeed her: Annalena Baerbock, Armin Laschet, and Olaf Scholz. 

Angela Merkel will leave office this Autumn, after 16 years as German chancellor.  Who will succeed her? That will be determined after parliamentary elections to be held in September. Our documentary examines the qualifications and the personalities of three politicians who hope to become chancellor: Annalena Baerbock (Greens), Armin Laschet (CDU / CSU), and Olaf Scholz (SPD). 

The 2021 elections are unique in post-war German history. For the first time, the incumbent chancellor will not be a candidate for re-election. 

For this documentary, reporters Ben Bolz and Philipp Grüll accompanied Baerbock, Laschet, and Scholz for months on the campaign trail. Bolz and Grüll also conducted extensive interviews with all three candidates, and reviewed hours of archive material. The result is a documentary that presents a detailed evaluation of their policies and their personalities. 

The candidates explain why they decided to get into politics. They also discuss the practical experience that they believe qualifies them for the office of chancellor. Our documentary examines the qualities that the candidates have in common, and those that set them apart from each other -- as they face what is likely the biggest challenge of their political careers.

Broadcasting Hours: 

DW English

WED 15.09.2021 – 01:15 UTC
WED 15.09.2021 – 04:15 UTC
THU 16.09.2021 – 09:15 UTC
SAT 18.09.2021 – 02:15 UTC
SUN 19.09.2021 – 08:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4
London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3

DW Deutsch+

THU 16.09.2021 – 09:15 UTC
SUN 19.09.2021 – 08:15 UTC 

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3