Germany's Deadly Flood Pushes Climate Change As Central Election Issue

The deadly floods that have engulfed large parts of western Germany this week have propelled climate change to the center stage of the nation's September election campaign, Andrew McCathie reported for Deutsche Presse Agentur (dpa).

German party leaders across the political spectrum have seized on the floods, the days of torrential rain, and a recent bout of high temperatures to call on the nation to face up to the challenges of global warming.

Armin Laschet, the current conservative frontrunner seeking to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel in the September 26 election, blamed global warming for the unprecedented flooding and torrential rainfall. Merkel plans to step down after September’s election after 16 years in power.

Laschet, who is also North Rhine Westphalia premier, appeared to play down the consequences of climate change several years ago.

But on Thursday, during a tour of the devastated region, he declared: "We will be faced with such events over and over, and that means we need to speed up climate protection measures... because climate change isn't confined to one state."

Meanwhile, Social Democrat (SPD) chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz abandoned his vacation and also traveled to the flooded region and expressed shock at the "tremendous destruction caused by nature."

Scholz said the natural disaster unfolding in western Germany "certainly also has something to do" with the fact that climate change is progressing rapidly.

Green Party chancellor Annalena Baerbock also broke off her summer vacation and returned to the campaign trail. Her party has traditionally benefitted from greater attention to the environment after natural catastrophes. Support surged for the Greens after Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.

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