Merkel seeks to boost Laschet in close German election race

By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel has sought to boost struggling would-be successor Armin Laschet in the tight race to become Germany’s next leader. She told a rally in her longtime electoral district Tuesday that he will look out for jobs and security. Merkel touted her center-right government’s record in bringing down unemployment and Germany’s debt, decrying plans by Laschet’s rivals to raise taxes. She also suggested that a left-wing government could be overly generous in giving financial help to more indebted European countries. Polls ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary election show Merkel’s Union bloc slightly behind the center-left Social Democrats.