Brexit Won't Harm German Fishers - Merkel Vows

German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to protect fishermen in the U.K.’s talks to leave the European Union, tailoring her election message to a local crowd on the North Sea coast as she seeks to rally her Christian Democratic Union’s base.

“I can tell those involved in fisheries: we will push for fair conditions for the deep-sea fishers,” Merkel told a crowd of supporters in the port city of Cuxhaven on Tuesday. Fishing is a major issue in Brexit negotiations, with Prime Minister Theresa May’s government vowing to “take back control” of British waters used by foreign fleets.

As Merkel’s Social Democratic opponent renewed his attack on her handling of Germany’s diesel scandal, Merkel also used her campaign appearance in a safe CDU district to offer standard pledges -- cutting debt, expanding broad-band coverage -- and a bit of folksy banter about her cooking.

Less than six weeks before Germans vote in a national election, her 50-stop campaign strategy is focusing on areas dominated by her party. It’s a sign that Merkel, 63, is counting on mobilizing core voters and winning back possible defectors to the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party as she seeks a fourth term on Sept. 24.

Hecklers angered by Merkel’s liberal refugee stance confronted her a day earlier at a campaign stop outside Frankfurt, a sign of the increased political risks compared to the 2013 election as her CDU-led bloc seeks to carry a poll lead of as many as 17 percentage points through election day.

Line of Attack

SPD challenger Martin Schulz stuck to his campaign theme of blaming Merkel for allowing a diesel-car scandal to fester. He told reporters in Berlin that her “zig-zagging course” was threatening jobs and not tough enough on automakers.

Merkel, who chairs the CDU, is campaigning in friendly territory with the exception of Dortmund, where she opened her nationwide tour on Saturday, and Bremen, where she confronted a more raucous crowd later on Tuesday.

Of 25 rallies scheduled in August, 23 are in voting districts won by her party in 2013.

Cuxhaven, located strategically near the estuaries of the Elbe and Weser rivers, is a center of fish production and processing. Merkel was flanked by Bernd Althusmann, the CDU candidate for state premier in Lower Saxony’s regional election in October, who called her a “pillar of stability” in a chaotic world.

Cooking to Relax

In a question-and-answer format at the beginning of her appearance on stage, the chancellor shared insights on her culinary habits. Asked by the moderator whether she “still cooks for her husband,” Merkel said she tries to stick to her practice of cooking on Saturday evenings.

“I should mention that my husband often has to take care of himself,” Merkel responded. “We also have freezers these days.”

“But I like to cook; I cook to work down tension,” she said. “Also I like to cook fish, I think I can say that since we’re here on the coast.”

Bloomberg.