Center-right seeks boost in Bavaria ahead of German election

BERLIN (AP) — The center-right Union bloc’s candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor sought the support Saturday of skeptical Bavarian allies 15 days before Germany’s national election. Polls indicate his party could get its worst result since World War II and the Bavarian sister-party has grumbled for months that its own leader would have been a stronger candidate. After emphasizing his support for federalism over centralized rule Armin Laschet attacked the center-left Social Democrats’ candidate Olaf Scholz. Laschet, the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia state, suffered a blow this week after a court ruled that a massive police operation his government ordered against environmental protesters in 2018 was illegal.