Now there is an open power struggle for the AKK and Merkel successors in the CDU. Norbert Röttgen surprised with clear words in the daily topic interview.
- After the election debacle in Thuringia, party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer declared that she would not be the candidate for chancellor of the Union.
- This sparked a power struggle within the CDU for its successor.
- Surprisingly, Norbert Röttgen is now also reporting.
>> << Update
2:28 pm: Norbert Röttgen's candidacy for the CDU chairmanship causes unrest just one day after becoming known. The party could now have an open argument about how to find a successor for the current boss Annegret Kramp - Karrenbauer . Röttgen spoke out against “back room” deals and thus shot directly against his potential competitor Armin Laschet . Röttgen * would favor a member survey.
However, various CDU colleagues reject this. "I am not convinced of a membership decision," said Economics Minister Peter Altmaier of the Passauer Neue Presse . He referred to the bad experiences that the SPD had had with it.
CSU leader Markus Söder has now warned the CDU against choosing its new party leader in a similar way to the SPD. "New candidates are now coming in almost every day. You have to be very careful that we don't get a situation like in the SPD due to wrong or too long timelines, with umpteen candidates and voting procedures that paralyze not only one party but all of Germany, ”said the Bavarian Prime Minister on Wednesday during the recording the ZDF broadcast "What now, Mr. Söder?".
In the daily topic interview: Röttgen attacks Laschet head-on
11.45 a.m .: Norbert Röttgen is the surprise candidate for the CDU chairmanship . On Tuesday , the 54-year-old threw his hat in the ring. He presented his plans at a press conference in the Bundestag. There he made it clear that he did not see himself as the fourth, but as the first candidate for the chair. After all, he was the first to officially apply for the post.
In the evening, Röttgen could be seen in the daily news interview on ARD . There Röttgen delivered the first direct attack on one of his potential opponents: Armin Laschet *. On Monday he asked for a "team solution".
Röttgen countered this approach directly on the ARD and said that the CDU currently has a "somewhat special use of the term team solution". The term is currently used to bring about a “back room solution without competition” . Röttgen considers it to be an "illusion" to be able to renew the party with this approach. A direct attack on Laschet.
Röttgen then brought up this criticism on Wednesday around his meeting with Noch-CDU boss AKK. He spoke in favor of a member survey.
ARD presenter Tina Hassel now commented on Norbert Röttgen's move to apply for the CDU chairmanship. She warned of "chaos days".
CDU crisis: Röttgen meets AKK and criticizes them directly - is the member survey coming?
10.18 a.m .: After his meeting with Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the CDU foreign politician Norbert Röttgen expressed optimism about a possible member survey on the future party chairman . "I am also optimistic that the opinion in the party, across the board, is becoming so prevalent that this cannot be a solution behind closed doors," said Röttgen on Wednesday after an hour-long conversation with the outgoing CDU - Boss Annegret Kramp - Karrenbauer in Berlin . The party leadership must decide whether this will happen.
CDU Chair: AKK meets Röttgen - he demands a quick decision
10.12 a.m .: Norbert Röttgen met the CDU chief Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Wednesday. It was a "good, friendly conversation," said Röttgen afterwards. He had expressed his already known opinion towards Kramp-Karrenbauer . He does not want to report on details, but has only one message in public as in conversations: “It is about more now than just a personnel decision. It is about a positional determination of the content for the future of the CDU . And that has to be done openly and not behind closed doors. "
Norbert Röttgen at the CDU headquarters on Wednesday morning after meeting with AKK.
© dpa / Kay Nietfeld
Röttgen wants to be the CDU leader: he expects more counter-candidates
The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag made it clear that he expects further potential candidates to come out of cover and publicly declare their candidacy. He is not a candidate under terms or conditions, but vouches for his beliefs. "I assume that others will soon decide for themselves and tell the party," said Röttgen. "I think you also have to know for yourself whether you are now responsible for the future of the CDU or whether there are conditions there."
Röttgen reiterated his call for a quick decision on the successor question. "We have to make our personnel decision by the summer break," said the 54-year-old after talking to Kramp-Karrenbauer.
He also criticized the procedure planned by Kramp-Karrenbauer again : "It remains my opinion that this question cannot be clarified in the back room." He was always in favor of a member survey, "especially when it comes to personnel decisions". The former Federal Environment Minister had justified his candidacy at a press conference on Tuesday with the fact that he wanted to reorganize the CDU as "team leader".
CDU crisis: Röttgen meets AKK and criticizes them before the meeting
9:40 am: The CDU foreign politician Norbert Röttgen has again asked for a quick solution for the future party chairmanship . “I think we need to make things clear. We are in special times, ”said Röttgen on Wednesday when he arrived for an interview with outgoing CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in Berlin . "I think it must be through before the summer break," said Röttgen .
Röttgen said that he got on well with the party chairman and was open to talking to Kramp-Karrenbauer. When asked whether he too was looking for a team solution to find a new chairman, the former Federal Minister for the Environment replied: "I am also for the team because the CDU can only be managed as a team." But Röttgen added: "I am against a special understanding of team solution, which has become a synonymous word for back room solution. I am for open competition and transparency and not for back rooms. "
CDU is looking for party leaders and chancellor candidates: Röttgen meets AKK
Update from February 19, 9:06 am: CDU chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer met on Wednesday morning in the Adenauerhaus for a conversation with the former Federal Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen .
On Wednesday, Kramp-Karrenbauer also wants to speak individually to Prime Minister Armin Laschet of North Rhine-Westphalia and Minister of Health Jens Spahn * about the further procedure for the replacement of the party presidency and candidate for chancellor. On Tuesday, Kramp-Karrenbauer had spoken to ex-union faction leader Friedrich Merz * for more than an hour about the upcoming decisions.
News from February 18: CDU hammer: Röttgen gets support from the wrong party
2:01 p.m .: When declaring his candidacy for party chairmanship, Norbert Röttgen (CDU) made a roundabout move. In short: the CDU has no answers to the current questions of the time and the future. The left chairman Bernd Riexinger describes this assessment as “interesting”. He shares Röttgen's analysis and assesses the suggestions of the former Federal Minister for the Environment as strongly pointing in a “social-liberal direction”. In contrast, the concepts of the former Union leader Friedrich Merz are backward-looking and neoliberal and seem more "dusty" these days. The praise from the Left Party should be less welcome to Röttgen. After all, he had sharply criticized the Left in his speech.
Actually, Röttgens has hardly suggested anything new regarding the orientation, however, says a user on Twitter. Rather, he is driving a complete Merkel course. Just because the Chancellor dismissed him as Minister for the Environment did not make him a supporter of the Chancellor.
Good assessment of the candidacy of # Röttgen: What is particularly interesting about Röttgen is that, in terms of content, he is totally in line with Merkel, but in contrast to #Laschet, after his dismissal as environment minister, he would never be considered a Merkelian.https: //t.co / 45JY6Y37Hx
- Lars Denkena (@LarsDenkena) February 18, 2020All in all, the CDU, like Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, seems to lack candidates who can unite the party and voters. For example, a user on Twitter wrote that the only pro argument for Röttgen occurred to him: "Pro: is not Friedrich Merz".
I'll summarize the confusing situation about #Roettgen and the hot Twitter debates of the past few hours:
Cons:
- another man
- another man from NRW
Per:
- he is not Friedrich Merz.
With that, all has been said. #CDUVorsitz
CDU hammer: No one had him on the screen - now Röttgen is swinging around
12.08: The CDU foreign expert Norbert Röttgen stole the show from his colleagues Friedrich Merz and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Tuesday morning. While the party leader and Röttgen's competition for the party presidency talk about the future of the party in a joint conversation, Röttgen publicly explains his motives for the candidacy. The party lacks a political and strategic orientation, said Röttgen. In addition, he mentioned six points in the press conference that he wanted to address as chairman. Röttgen initially left open whether he also wanted to run as a candidate for chancellor.
11:58: What Norbert Röttgen would have done differently than its chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer , a journalist wants to know at the press conference. After all, the crisis was emerging. "When it became clear what could happen, I think it would have been important to take vigorous action," said Röttgen.
11.41 a.m .: Norbert Röttgen initially only wants to reach for the party chair - and not necessarily for the chancellor's candidacy. He wanted to do it the way the CDU always did: in the CDU, the chair should be clarified - but the candidate for chancellor should then be clarified with the CSU. The Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder had also spoken in favor of this on the previous day. In this way, Röttgen could have confused Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's efforts to steer the search for successors within the party and without a public power struggle.
In the wake of the leadership crisis in the CDU, Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Daniel Günther has also said: He is betting on Angela Merkel in the Bundestag election campaign.
Norbert Röttgen wants to become CDU leader - but he leaves one thing open
11:31: The CDU foreign expert Norbert Röttgen speaks absolutely against the party on the left even on request. The left does not distinguish itself clearly enough against left-wing radicalism, says Röttgen. The party must first deal with its SED past.
Röttgen considers these points to be so serious that they should not be ignored for tactical reasons . Even if the CDU loses votes, this pressure should not be ignored. Even if the citizens supported the left.
11:21: Norbert Röttgen gives six reasons for his candidacy : "First: The CDU is the party of the middle", which makes it imperative to draw borders to the right and left. Röttgen emphasizes the demarcation from the AfD and the left in the classic Kramp-Karrenbauer tenor.
Secondly, the " CDU is the party of German unity". A democratic dialogue between East and West Germany is needed to overcome the gap. Third, the reasons that led to the strengthening of the shift to the right in Germany had to be eliminated. The “demarcation from the AfD alone is not enough,” says Röttgen. People felt abandoned. In a time of dramatic change, people experience no policies that protect them, Röttgen says in his statement. The citizens are afraid, according to Röttgen. And there is only one remedy for fear: "talking". Röttgen calls this talking the return of politics.
CDU hammer: Nobody had him on the screen - now surprise candidate wants to completely renew the CDU
The fourth reason, the fourth problem that Röttgen apparently wants to solve with his candidacy, is war. He wants to promote that one should speak about the escalation in Syria and other sources of fire while it is developing. The EU sees similar problems that are not discussed. "We need a European answer to questions", not because of, but despite the pressure exerted on the EU from outside.
The fifth reason Röttgen wants to start is environmental policy . The CDU needs better ecological competence. Otherwise you will lose an entire generation of voters. "Without ecological competence, there is no future competence."
The sixth point: "The CDU as a party of the middle must strengthen the middle of society." There are fears, said Röttgen. You have to face this. As a party, you have to remain open, talk and unite in Europe.
11:01: Norbert Röttgen explains his surprising candidacy with an emergency. According to Röttgen, he had attended the Munich Security Conference - and all of his foreign partners had asked him about the CDU leadership crisis.
It is not about personal ambitions, says Röttgen: "It is about the content and strategic direction of the CDU", and because he has heard little about it, since CDU boss Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has given up her resignation, he is running himself.
The problems of the established parties could not be solved with a personnel decision, says Röttgen. "These problems cannot be solved with a Messiah."
CDU hammer: Norbert Röttgen wants to run for the CDU chair
10:54: Norbert Röttgen (CDU) is now coming to the federal press conference and wants to make his candidacy public. Röttgen is the first to have publicly announced his candidacy for the CDU chairmanship. The other candidates, Friedrich Merz, Jens Spahn and Armin Laschet, are getting interested in party circles. None of the others has yet made any public statements.
There is still no statement on Röttgen's candidacy from the CDU party headquarters in Berlin.
10:38: The announcement by Norbert Röttgen to run for the CDU chairmanship comes as a surprise on Tuesday morning. And at a time when the party is currently in the process of ensuring an unobtrusive solution with little power struggle, shortly before the outgoing party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Tuesday first with Merz and on Wednesday also with Laschet and Spahn over their Wanted to speak ambitions. The CDU party circles said that it was assumed that, like the other candidates, there would also be an appointment by Kramp-Karrenbauer with Röttgen in the next few days.
CDU hammer: Norbert Röttgen wants to run for the CDU chair
9.50 a.m .: Norbert Röttgen wants to publicly comment on his surprising candidacy for the party chair at 11 a.m. in a press conference. A day earlier, the Bavarian sister party CSU had made it clear that the CDU should deal with its new chairman, but could not choose the new candidate for chancellor at the same time. Prime Minister Markus Söder made it clear that the decision to stand for the Union was “not without the CSU” and suggested that the search for the candidate for chancellor be suspended for a few more months. Maybe that's why Röttgen dared to take cover.
Friedrich Merz, North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Armin Laschet *, Health Minister Jens Spahn and Söder are currently considered possible successors to CDU leader * Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
CDU hammer: Nobody had him on the screen - suddenly new candidacy for party leadership
First announcement February 18, 2020: The CDU foreign expert Norbert Röttgen (54) has registered his candidacy for the CDU chairmanship . The Düsseldorf Rheinische Post reports this, referring to a letter from Röttgen to party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer * .
Röttgen argues that he is firmly convinced that it is about much more than the party presidency and certainly not about the interests of individuals. "The situation is so serious that it is about the future of the CDU and what it means for the stability of Germany," said Röttgen. He wanted to bring this into the CDU in an open process .
Röttgen was Federal Minister for the Environment from 2009 to 2012 and prevailed against Armin Laschet in a member survey in 2010 about the NRW state presidency . He lost the state elections in 2012, whereupon Chancellor Angela Merkel released him from the cabinet. As chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag, he was then able to profile himself internationally.
This surprising message is received by citizens in different ways. For example, a user writes sarcastically on Twitter: "First Merz, then Röttgen - this is the new season of The Walking Dead"
First Merz, now # Röttgen, is this the new season of The Walking Dead?
I anticipate a resurrection and candidature of Kohl at any time.
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
Rubric list image: © screenshot of daily topics