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A30 world news
Diamars 31 augustus 2021

Merkel’s would-be heir seeks rebound after election debate

(AP) — Chancellor An- sought to focus Monday on
gela Merkel’s struggling his pledges: no tax raises,
would-be heir on Monday modernization, security and
hit back at suggestions more coherence in foreign
that a center-left rival is policy decisions.
better qualified for the
job after a televised de- He promoted his climate pol-
bate four weeks ahead of icy, which foresees making
Germany’s election failed Germany “climate-neutral”
to give him a clear break- by 2045 while still preserving
through. industrial jobs, and has been
criticized by the Greens as
Armin Laschet, the chancel- half-hearted.
lor candidate from Merkel’s
center-right Union bloc, in- “We are counting on inno-
sisted that he was “not at all” vation, on market mecha-
frustrated by a poll follow- nisms, which from our point
ing Sunday night’s debate. It of view are more promising
showed most viewers picking than the bans we heard about
center-left Social Democrat again yesterday evening from
Olaf Scholz as the winner of the Social Democrats and
the event, followed by envi- Greens,” Laschet said.
ronmentalist Green contend-
er Annalena Baerbock and The Social Democrats de-
then Laschet. bund Social Democrats, with they face. added. clared themselves satisfied
the Greens a few points back. with the debate. The party’s
The mass-circulation Bild “Let’s let voters decide what He once again assailed Scholz general secretary, Lars Kling-
daily’s front page proclaimed Merkel, Germany’s leader they think is chancellor-like,” for refusing to rule out a co- beil, said Laschet is “fighting
it a “clear victory for Scholz since 2005, chose not to run. Laschet said when asked at a alition with the hard-left op- for his personal future” and
on TV” and a “debate debacle She said nearly three years news conference about the position Left Party, a possibil- still needs to convince his
for Laschet.” ago that she wouldn’t seek a positive reviews of Scholz’s ity that the Union has repeat- own party that he should be
fifth term. performance. “If you want edly raised as its own ratings Germany’s next leader.
The race for Germany’s Sept. Angela Merkel’s politics, you sink.
26 parliamentary election, The experienced and unflap- have to get away from this “We will go at full throttle for
which has been marked by pable Scholz, the vice chan- completely state-oriented “That’s not chancellor-like,” 27 days now ... we want Olaf
missteps first by Baerbock cellor and finance minister in Social Democratic election Laschet said. “The chancel- Scholz to become chancel-
and then Laschet, is too close Merkel’s outgoing coalition program.” lor would have given a clear lor, and yesterday was an im-
to call. Recent polls show government, has seen his answer.” portant milestone for that,”
Laschet’s Union bloc — personal ratings rise in sur- “I didn’t notice anything Klingbeil told n-tv television.
which long enjoyed a lead veys that suggest many vot- along those lines yesterday, Laschet, the governor of Ger-
— level with or even slightly ers aren’t impressed with the and I didn’t see him as ... a many’s most populous state, Two more debates follow, on
behind Scholz’s long-mori- choices for chancellor that firework show of ideas,” he North Rhine-Westphalia, Sept. 12 and 19.

As Ida leaves Gulf, analysts foresee modest economic damage

(AP) — With more than downs are not prolonged, likely narrows the area of cat- The hurricane downed a precaution.
1 million customers in economists say. astrophic damage. The ana- major transmission tower
Louisiana and Mississippi lysts estimated that losses for in Jefferson Parish along the The service disruptions
having lost power, Hurri- The hurricane is expected to the insurance industry will Mississippi River, sending aren’t expected to immedi-
cane Ida is sure to take a inflict a less severe financial hit around $10 billion, far wires into the river, causing ately affect the availability of
toll on the energy, chemi- impact than Hurricane Ka- less than the $90 billion-plus widespread outages and halt- gasoline nationally, though,
cal and shipping indus- trina did 16 years ago, thanks from Katrina. ing river traffic, said Joe Va- because of ample fuel re-
tries that have major hubs in part to a lower storm surge liente, director of emergency serves in the system, the de-
along the Gulf Coast. But and New Orleans’ improved Oil prices barely moved management for the parish. partment said.
the impact on the overall levee system. Analysts at Monday as oil companies and Those lines supplied power
U.S. economy will likely Boenning & Scattergood, a refiners assessed any damage to the New Orleans area. For now, the ports of Baton
be modest so long as dam- financial consultancy, not- from the storm. The price on Rouge, Gramercy and Mor-
age estimates don’t rise ed that Ida’s wind field is the New York Mercantile Ex- Valiente told NPR that the gan City in Louisiana and
sharply and refinery shut- smaller than Katrina’s, which change was flat at $68.74 per entire power grids collapsed the Port of Pascagoula, Mis-
barrel. Gasoline futures rose in about 10 parishes and that sissippi are all closed. The
1.2%. it could take six weeks to ful- Louisiana Offshore Oil Port
ly restore power. has also suspended opera-
Still, Ida, which tied for the tions. The Port of New Or-
fifth-strongest hurricane Roughly 96% of oil produc- leans was closed but reported
ever to hit the mainland, left tion and 94% of natural gas that “initial reports indicate
so many customers without production in the Gulf re- no major damage to our fa-
electricity that any prolonged main shut because of Ida, ac- cilities.”
power outage could have re- cording to the U.S. Depart-
percussions, at least tempo- ment of Energy. Nearly 300 Early indications are that re-
rarily, for the oil, natural gas manned oil platforms and fineries along the Gulf Coast
and chemical companies that drilling rigs were closed and were spared the kind of dam-
have major operations along evacuated. At least nine oil age they suffered during
the gulf. The longer power refineries in the region have Hurricane Harvey in 2017,
remains out, the longer those also been shuttered, repre- which caused flooding that
companies will struggle to re- senting 13% of the nation’s inundated several refineries
start their operations. total refining capacity. Several in the Houston area.
pipelines are also closed as a