The digital CDU party congress is supposed to produce a new chairman.
During the two-day event, Angela Merkel and Markus Söder also address a few greetings to the party.
The digital
CDU party convention
begins on Friday,
when a new chairman is to be elected.
Armin Laschet
,
Norbert Röttgen
and
Friedrich Merz
are available.
In addition, the speeches by Chancellor
Angela Merkel *
and Bavarian Prime Minister
Markus Söder are
eagerly awaited.
We report from the event in the
news ticker
.
Update from January 15, 10:44 p.m
.: After the two greetings from
Angela Merkel
and Markus Söder, the party conference will soon end.
What remains, among other things, the renewed impression that
Angela Merkel
a victory of
Armin Laschet
would prefer.
“I want a team to be elected,” she said - and thus perhaps alluded to Laschet's joint candidacy with
Health Minister Jens Spahn
as Vice.
The speeches of the three candidates
Laschet, Merz
and
Röttgen
before the election for the
CDU chairmanship
are eagerly awaited.
At this point tomorrow, we will provide you with the most important content before making the trend-setting decision.
Söder praises Merkel at the CDU party convention: "She is the one who gives us courage"
Update from January 15th, 8:20 pm
: “She is the one who gives us courage and brings us forward.
Even if one or the other Prime Minister wants to deviate from time to time, it holds us together, ”says the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) in a direct thank you to
Angela Merkel
.
“
Corona is
changing more than we think.
It may be a bit like after a snowmelt.
Then you can see what is still there: social, economic questions.
We will not be able to give old answers to completely new questions.
As the Union parties, we have to really team up again. ”
Söder
repeatedly called
for cooperation during his greeting.
But do not fail to point out how well and gladly he has worked with the
sister party
so far
.
Compared to the competition, he sees the Union in a good position in the election year 2021: "The SPD comes with higher taxes, higher debts." And the Greens have not yet decided who they want to work with.
Markus Söder's greeting to the CDU delegates: lateral thinkers and conspiracy theorists are worrying
But he also has concerns about the mood among the population: “Everything that revolves around lateral thinkers and conspiracy theorists is a much greater challenge than we think.
Some may derive the moral authority for resistance from a crude conspiracy, ”said
Söder
.
He is also thinking of the situation in the USA.
“The higher the mountain, the more exciting it is to make the ascent.
We as the
CSU
want to do the tasks together with you, ”he sends his greetings from Bavaria.
One would hear the applause now, I'm sure, says
Ziemiak
after Söder's speech and then asks the Bavarian Prime Minister about his famous cup.
“We are innovative, but we don't have a CDU cup yet,” he says.
Most recently, Söder caused discussions on social networks with Star Wars cups during his speeches.
Markus Söder at the CDU party congress: "People are not yet thinking about the federal election"
Update from January 15, 8:22 p.m
.: Markus Söders greeting at the CDU party congress.
His speech also begins with a thank you to “Annegret”: “Our greatest task was to reunite a very divided union.” He remembers the hard work in committee meetings that lasted into the night.
“I wish you all the best for tomorrow.
There has never been an election campaign in a party for so long, ”says Söder with a slight swipe.
He is sure that he can work with all three candidates.
But then he also says: “But people are not talking about the federal election, they are wondering how things will continue in this difficult time.
And that will still challenge us enormously. "
Angela Merkel at the CDU party conference: Conflicts, Europe and geographic change
Update from January 15, 7.42 p.m.:
Merkel sees not only the pandemic as the challenges of the future, but also demographic change and climate change.
"There is also another challenge:" We must continue to build Europe together, as Europeans. "
“The strength of our country lies in the people.
We have confidence in each and every one of us, ”Merkel continued.
As a people's party in the middle, the
CDU
would always work to ensure that conflicts can also be overcome.
This includes conflicts between generations and the young generation's concern about
climate change
.
“I hope that this
party congress will make
the right decisions for the future.
I hope that a team will be elected that will tackle the challenges of our country together.
And a successful, but also healthy year for all of us, ”she concludes.
CDU party conference 2021: Angela Merkel's greetings begin with a surprising statement
Update from January 15, 7:35 p.m
.: Angela Merkel's speech begins.
She is happy about the special party congress, which says new possibilities through the digital format.
She repeats the formula that "in all likelihood" it will be her last party congress as Federal Chancellor.
“Through all the eventful years, the citizens have gained strength and resilience.
And that is also thanks to the CDU, which is ready to take responsibility for the country. ”This is what she says looking back on the years of her chancellorship and looking to the present, which is particularly difficult.
Update from January 15, 5:50 p.m
.: The CDU must not concern itself with itself longer than is absolutely necessary in the super election year, ”said Thomas Strobl, the
CDU Federal Vice President
before the start of the party congress.
The party congress is also expected to make a decision on how to run for chancellor.
But the population does not trust any of the three candidates to take office.
A survey by the ZDF Political Barometer found that most of the Germans put Markus Söder in the office - followed by Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Jens Spahn (CDU).
And
Markus Söder
will also
speak at the party congress on Friday evening
directly after
Angela Merkel
.
Strobl has called for unity: “After Saturday comes Sunday.
Then we will all gather behind the newly elected chairman and support him as the newly elected chairman, possible candidate for chancellor and possible future chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany to the fullest - in solidarity and without reservation. "
CDU party congress: Söder (CSU) speaks at the party congress according to Angela Merkel - and praises her in advance
Update from January 15, 1:15 p.m.:
On Friday evening,
Markus Söder
speaks
at the
digital CDU party conference.
Before that, he once again made it clear that nothing would be determined in the question of the candidate for chancellor without his party - and quietly indicated preferences for the chairmanship of the sister party.
The question of the chancellor is decided jointly, “because Bavaria has many votes in the federal elections.
The CSU chairman always plays an important role in the overall success of the CDU, ”said Söder in an interview with the
Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung
.
He added quite tellingly: "Even in the CDU there is a discussion that there has been no born candidate."
The three candidates,
Friedrich Merz, Armin Laschet and Norbert Röttgen
, set different accents on how they
wanted to deal
with
Angela Merkel's
legacy.
"Anyone who thinks they can win the federal election by breaking with Angela Merkel is fundamentally wrong," explained Söder in this context.
Possibly a swipe: of the three applicants,
Friedrich Merz is
the candidate who is striving for the party's most conservative course and thus the strongest break with Merkel's central policy.
The fact that
Söder
thinks little of it, he emphasized once again with praise for the
Chancellor
: “She is one of the very great Chancellors in Federal Republican history and stands in a row with Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl.
In addition, there is an extremely high level of approval for her person and her politics in Germany, "said the CSU leader:" Your legacy must be preserved and at the same time enriched with new ideas for the next stage of German politics. "
CDU party congress: In addition to the applicants Röttgen, Laschet and Merz, Merkel and Söder will also speak
Update from January 15, 8:48 a.m.:
The presidency candidate
Norbert Röttgen
has confirmed his claim
to want to become a
candidate for chancellor
* if he is elected.
During a conversation in RTL's “Guten Morgen Deutschland” on Friday morning, he said that it was the
CDU's
self-
image
that the chairman should also take over the office of candidate for chancellor.
"The most important goal is that the Union candidate becomes the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany".
With the potential competitor of the
CSU, Markus Söder
, Röttgen does not want to measure himself: “We are the first servants of the parties, that's what it's all about.
And not about us and our egos. "
The
CDU
needs new impetus, and the election campaign for the upcoming state elections is right there.
"There's a lot of work to do," said
Röttgen
.
His plan after a victory: “I will go to my new job with a lot of energy and drive.” 2021 is a so-called super election year in Germany with six state elections and the federal election.
CDU party congress: Merkel and Söder's speech eagerly awaited
Update from January 15, 2021, 6.18 a.m.:
Today at 6 p.m. the digital
CDU party convention
for the election of a new
chairman
begins
.
It's not just about the
election
, there are also speeches by the outgoing party chairman
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
, a digital greeting from
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU)
,
CSU boss Markus Söder
and the
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
.
The new party leader should then be elected on Saturday morning.
Choices are
Armin Laschet, Norbert Röttgen
and
Friedrich Merz
.
But Markus Söder is always up for debate, even if he emphasizes that he sees his tasks in Bavaria.
The Bavarian Prime Minister also remained vague on Friday.
When asked under what circumstances, the
chancellor candidate
of the
Union
of the
CSU
might come, he told the newspapers the spark Media Group (Friday): "Even within the CDU is argued that there is so far no-born candidate.
Who is the right one also depends on the content profile with which we want to go into the Bundestag election. "
CDU party congress: Merkel and Söder give their speeches - does the Bavarian Prime Minister position himself?
First report from January 14, 2020:
Berlin - After almost a year of hanging, the digital
CDU party congress
* for the election of a new chairman
starts this Friday at 6 p.m.
Among other things, speeches by the outgoing party leader *
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
and digital speeches by Chancellor
Angela Merkel
, CSU * boss
Markus Söder
and EU Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen are
planned.
The new party leader should then be elected on Saturday morning.
Digital CDU party congress: Chancellor Angela Merkel and Markus Söder give speech
The speeches by
Angela Merkel
* and the Bavarian Prime Minister Söder are
particularly
eagerly awaited.
Söder had inspired the delegates with his speech at the last CDU party congress in Leipzig.
Quite a few then said that Söder had brought himself up for
discussion about
a possible
candidate
for
chancellor
.
The
CDU
* wants to be the first party in Germany to elect its new chairman online.
In addition to NRW Prime Minister
Armin Laschet
*, ex-Union parliamentary leader
Friedrich Merz
and foreign politician
Norbert Röttgen
* are
running
.
It is expected that none of the candidates will receive the necessary absolute majority in the first ballot on Saturday and that a second ballot will be necessary immediately afterwards.
Video: Who will be CDU boss?
The three candidates at a glance
CDU party congress: Merkel and Söder give speech - Bavarian Prime Minister so far without ambitions for the Chancellery
In order to make the “digital preselection” legally secure, a
postal vote
follows
.
The result should be finalized and announced on January 22nd.
If the new
CDU chairman is
elected, the discussion about the right
candidate for chancellor
should quickly
gain momentum
in the Union
.
In recent months, the Bavarian Prime Minister
Söder has
regularly been in the lead in surveys on this topic
.
However, Söder himself has so far not made any public ambitions for the Chancellery clear.
(dpa / fmü)
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network.