Norbert Röttgen's candidacy has set the Union candidate race in motion. Above all, one should not be happy about the new competitor, says Merkur editor-in-chief Georg Anastasiadis.
More than a week has passed since Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer threw her former mentor Angela Merkel at the party chair. The chaos has not diminished since then. There is still no timetable for the election of the new boss, nor is there a procedure. But all the more applicants from NRW. The fact that Norbert Röttgen from Bonn has also thrown his hat into the ring is a problem for North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Armin Laschet in particular: he clearly has no grip on his national association, at least not behind him. The concept "unite" addressed to the Trio Laschet / Merz / Spahn has also been thrown overboard with Röttgen's speculative application.
Laschet clocked and washed. This corresponds to his cautious nature, but is also due to the fact that he has the most to lose: if he competes and is defeated by Merz within the party, he is done in the CDU. If he competes and is subject to the Bundestag election against Habeck, the same applies. If he competes and wins first against Merz and then against Habeck, the CDU bastion NRW abandoned by her regent threatens to turn green-red in the 2022 state election.
Laschet acts half-heartedly. Merz at full risk. That could make all the difference in the end. So far, the CDU has still focused on its strongest magnet, not two or three. That Laschet is this powerful magnet, would not even say good-natured party friends.