A divided house

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Armin Laschet looks to have [prevailed]( in the battle to become the candidate for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc in September’s federal election. The battle for their party’s soul may only be beginning. Laschet has been [vying]( with Markus Soeder, the Bavarian state premier whose CSU is the sister party to Laschet and Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union. Polls suggest whoever becomes the contender would be the front-runner to occupy the Chancellery once Merkel steps down. A late-night decision by the CDU leadership in Laschet’s favor effectively ended Soeder’s campaign, despite the Bavarian’s higher approval ratings. But it’s unlikely to bring a close to the rivalry between their respective camps. The fight is about more than just personalities: Laschet represents the center ground that Merkel made her own, to the anger of many in her own party; Soeder is to the right, and has in the past espoused a more skeptical stance on issues from migration to Europe. That’s a divide now openly simmering at the heart of the ruling bloc just five months from the most unpredictable election in a generation or more, and one with consequences for Europe. It’s a gift for the [Greens](, who announced party co-leader Annalena Baerbock as their chancellor candidate yesterday, and are polling in second place. Skeptics will say that Merkel’s legacy of centrist politics is a riven bloc struggling to cling to power. It may be that she was the last thing holding the CDU and CSU together. — [Alan Crawford]( The CDU headquarters in Berlin in October 2005. Angela Merkel became Germany’s first female chancellor the following month. Photographer: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images Check out all our biggest stories on the Bloomberg Politics web page [here]( and tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines Trailing China | Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is lagging China in [seizing]( opportunities from tackling climate change — such as creating jobs. With President Joe Biden hosting a virtual summit on the environment starting Thursday, Blinken added Washington won’t turn a blind eye to human rights abuses just because countries make progress on climate issues. - Chinese President Xi Jinping called for more global economic [integration]( and told the U.S. and its allies to avoid “bossing others around.” - Congress could put at [risk]( research collaborations and funding for U.S. universities from China by subjecting some foreign gifts and contracts to national security reviews. Seeking relevance | Once the primary government creditors to the developing world, Paris Club members have been eclipsed by China. But, as [Alonso Soto]( and [William Horobin]( write, a new plan to defuse a debt blowout from the pandemic gives the Paris Club a shot at [reclaiming]( influence. Kept apart | It’s been a year since migrant workers in Singapore were [confined]( to dormitories to prevent an outbreak of Covid-19 spreading across the island. Now, with almost no new cases among the laborers and thousands of them vaccinated, some wonder how long it will take for restrictions to end, as [Philip Heijmans]( explains. Tricky waters | Barclays Plc faced an outcry for helping raise hundreds of millions of dollars in the municipal bond market to build two privately owned prisons in Alabama — two years after the bank vowed to cut financing ties with the for-profit industry. Its withdrawal as underwriter marks a rare [win]( for activists and investors focused on environmental and social causes in the $3.9 trillion municipal market. Vaccine suspicion | Only 5.22 million of Sub-Saharan Africa’s almost 1 billion people have received Covid-19 shots due to scarce supplies, mistrust of Chinese-made vaccines and [fears]( the pandemic is a foreign plot. [Antony Sguazzin]( and [Katarina Hoije]( explain the skepticism threatens to put the continent’s inoculation rollout further behind the rest of the world. Waiting for the Sinopharm vaccination in Harare, Zimbabwe, on March 29. Photographer: Tafadzwa Ufumeli/Getty Images Europe Paid Post ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions is working to advance breakthrough technologies, including carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and other technologies, from our extensive, industry-leading R&D portfolio. [Learn more]( ExxonMobil What to Watch - Ethiopia told the United Nations Security Council that Egypt and Sudan haven’t negotiated in good faith on a controversial [Nile]( dam and asked it to coax the parties back to talks. - Nations including Germany, Russia and China continue to meet in Vienna to help the U.S. and Iran map a path back to the 2015 nuclear deal. - Saudi Arabia could be weeks from [clinching]( a $3.7 billion green loan for a key part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s program to diversify the economy. - The U.K. and the Pentagon reached [agreement]( on a $2 billion sale of 14 Chinook helicopters built by Boeing, as well as engines, machine guns, radar and missile-jamming equipment for the choppers. And finally ... Mountains of paperwork, visa requirements and spiraling fees for European tours are forcing musicians to [reconsider]( life in the U.K., [Isolde MacDonogh]( reports. In this post-Brexit world, the careers of scores of British musicians have been upended, forcing many to consider moving to Europe. New restrictions don’t just impede U.K. musicians’ abilities to tour in Europe, they also jeopardize artists’ ability to rehearse. Photographer: Graeme Robertson/Getty Images Europe   Like Balance of Power? [Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com](, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters.  You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022