olaf schulz came out probably at par with friedrich merz a. little bit ahead in the first poll.onducted by the public broadcaster. >> zdf. >> but he didn't really make a mark, especially in favor of his party. so what happened. >> is that they. >> actually exchanged more or less common views about migration, the economy, energy policy. but there was nothing really surprising in all of that. of course, they don't agree on the state of the economy. while olaf is insisting that germany is very strong and has a lot of potential, which of course is pointing out that germany is lagging behind and it's losing competitiveness because perhaps we listen in or it's short picture of how those two candidates actually have a very different take on the economy. by the. >> manhattan we had more to fight against with rising industry costs and energy prices, we in germany must import coal, gas and oil, the prices of which exploded unbelievably, and our economy felt this much more. and we don't need to go into how another government named mr. altmeier as economy minister and miss merkel perhaps di

whether that is possible is a different question, because obviously, the center left olaf schulz andcoalition partners have a great interest on rubbing in that message and saying, look at what he did last week. can you trust this man in the chancellery? >> and what about, you know, let's say that friedrich merz gets elected, which is the overwhelming assumption here. the overall overwhelming expectation. is there any chance that we see any kind of coalition with the afd, or is this just about luring voters back and using their support occasionally? >> yeah, absolutely. it's the latter. there's absolutely no prospect for a cdu, afd or any sort of afd coalition after this election. i think if you're worried about afd inclusion into a german government, you need to look at the four year time horizon in a scenario where you get a friedrich merz led government, most likely with the spd, and this voter disgruntlement continues around issues like immigration, perhaps low growth, other stories. does that then make a cdu change of heart more likely? four years down the line, three weeks down

olaf scholz is the man he's trying to appeal to. >> fifth meeting with him yesterday since he's. >> been prime. and schulzlection. >> and he's out. >> and he's out. >> he's in third place in the polls. >> he's going to be humiliated. >> he's going to be humiliated. >> why is so much political capital being invested in yesterday's met? >> it's incredible. germany's chancellor. >> but the peculiar thing here is we all heard donald trump on the tarmac just before he. stepped onto air force one overnight, saying europe is definitely going to be slapped by tariffs, probably 25%. and britain, oh, maybe. maybe not. we're on the precipice here. why are. >> our why is the foreign. >> our why is the foreign. >> office and the prime minister jumping into bed with the lot that are definitely going to get tariffs? >> i quite agree. >> i quite agree. >> it'sjust >> i quite agree. >> it's just a nightmare, isn't it? >> political timing. >> political timing. >> it's just a >> political timing. >> it'sjust a nightmare. >> it's just a nightmare. i that's his choice. that's what he's chosen to do. will there be any benefit