The struggle for the CDU chairmanship has begun. Armin Laschet has been running with Jens Spahn as vice, Norbert Röttgen with an undisclosed woman and Friedrich Merz alone.
- CDU chief Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer no longer wants to become candidate for chancellor of the CDU
- Friedrich Merz will run for the CDU chair
- Norbert Röttgen surprisingly declares candidacy for CDU chairmanship
- CDU special party conference on April 25
Update from Tuesday, February 25, 2020, 1:00 p.m .: Friedrich Merz sees the Thuringia disaster as the result of his party's current weakness in leadership: "I would have liked more leadership from the Federal Party. ...That should not have happened."
Merz describes the Laschet / Spahn team as "cartel formation"
In view of the CDU's demarcation decision from the AfD and the Left, Merz calls for differentiation. He would have "felt more comfortable" if the party had not taken the delimitation against right and left in a decision ". However, there can be no cooperation with the left.
Merz was also asked how he intended to solve the problem of right-wing radicalism: "Do I conclude from this that your answer to the problem of right-wing radicalism is the greater focus on clan crime, border controls, etc.?" Merz answered "yes" to this.
Update from Tuesday, February 25th, 2020, 11.10am: Former Union faction leader Friedrich Merz has officially declared his candidacy for the CDU chairmanship . Merz said on Tuesday in Berlin that he wanted to run at the party conference on April 25. In his statement, he criticized, among other things, the politics of the grand coalition, which are at the expense of young people. Merz stands for "Aufbruch", Armin Laschet , to whom he does not want to come too close, for "continuity".
He was a team player, but a team needed a "leader". Actually, he could have imagined to run for “vice” if he lost. "That was done today, so I'm playing for victory, not for space." He alluded to Armin Laschet, who is running with Jens Spahn as vice. One would speak “in real life” in such a case of “forming cartels to weaken competition”, Merz continues.
CDU chair: Röttgen wants a woman in the team
Meanwhile, Norbert Röttgen announced on Twitter to bring a woman on board: "The second person in my team will be a woman."
Update from Tuesday, February 25th, 2020, 9.40am: At the press conference, Armin Laschet advocated cohesion within society in general and the CDU in particular. He points to people's fears about migration, climate change and globalization. All of this would unsettle people. He wants to work on cohesion with Jens Spahn. He wanted to bring the country and the party together.
He also advocates "zero tolerance towards criminals", but wants "to remain liberal". You also need "more Europe". Therefore, he is running for the CDU chair.
Update from Tuesday, February 25th, 2020, 8:25 am: Friedrich Merz invited to a press conference for 11:00 am entitled “On the candidacy for the CDU chairmanship”. Now Armin Laschet and Jens Spahn have also scheduled a joint press conference at 9.30 a.m. Spahn, however, declared his waiver in advance. According to information from the German Press Agency, Laschet wants to make Spahn his deputy if he is elected party leader.
Update from Tuesday, February 25th, 2020, 07.10am: Friedrich Merz will give a press conference on his plans for a candidacy. It is therefore certain that a fight candidate in the CDU will decide on its future party chairmanship.
The chances for an amicable “team solution” with previous agreements between Laschet, Merz and Spahn have drastically decreased.
Update from Monday, February 24th, 2020, 6.20pm: Former Union faction leader Friedrich Merz wants to run for the CDU chairmanship . The German press agency learned this from party circles in Berlin on Monday. Previously, the federal press conference had invited to a press conference for Tuesday, February 25, 2020, 11 a.m. under the title “On the candidacy for the CDU chairmanship”.
Update from Monday, February 24th, 2020, 11.45 a.m .: The CDU probably wants to elect its new chairman at a special party conference on April 25th in Berlin. The press was told on Monday by party circles that the date had not yet been finalized.
Update from Wednesday, February 19, 2020, 2:20 p.m .: Chancellor Angela Merkel does not want to interfere in the processes surrounding the CDU Vositz. She said that when she stepped down in 2018 and that she wanted to stick to it, she said on Wednesday in Berlin.
Merkel underlined, "At the time I commented both on my willingness to be Chancellor and - and I would like to emphasize this again - that I did not answer the question of who will lead the CDU in the future or who will become a candidate for chancellor meddling. My historical experience is that the predecessors should stay out of this. And I follow that. ”That doesn't mean that she doesn't speak to potential candidates.
CDU Chair: Röttgen for member survey
Update from Wednesday, February 19, 2020, 11:15 a.m .: Norbert Röttgen initiated a member survey on Wednesday regarding the future CDU chairmanship. "I think this wish in the party will become stronger and more audible," he said after an hour-long meeting with outgoing party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in Berlin. Röttgen is optimistic that the CDU is assuming that “this cannot be a solution behind closed doors”.
The party leadership must decide whether this will happen.
Update from Tuesday, February 18, 2020, 11.30 a.m .: Norbert Röttgen * bases his candidacy on the concern about the development of the CDU . "It's about the future of the CDU and it's about the Christian-democratic idea of the future of our country," he said on Tuesday in Berlin. He has "heard little of this since Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's announcement of withdrawal," added Röttgen , referring to his competitors. "And that's why I'm running."
It is "far from only" a personnel decision, "least of all the ambitions and personnel interests of individuals". The 54-year-old emphasized that the new CDU leadership is about the “strategic positioning of the CDU”.
Update from Tuesday, February 18, 2020, 9.30 a.m .: The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, Norbert Röttgen, has registered his candidacy for the successor of CDU boss Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Röttgen in the race for the CDU chairmanship
Röttgen, who, like the prospective applicants Friedrich Merz, Armin Laschet and Jens Spahn, comes from North Rhine-Westphalia, told the press after the "Rheinische Post" had previously reported on it.
. @ n_roettgen has declared his candidacy for the #CDU presidency. He is concerned with the strategic realignment of @CDU, says # Röttgen. With a 6-point plan he wants to re-establish the #CDU as a "party of the middle class".
YouTube: https://t.co/YfJxYwbPHP pic.twitter.com/nhPZvECoIz
Update from Tuesday, February 18, 2020, 6.45 a.m .: The Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein Daniel Günther suggests that Chancellor Angela Merkel continue to be the driving force in the next Bundestag election campaign. "With Angela Merkel , we as CDU have every chance of getting a very good result in the Bundestag election," said the CDU politician on Monday evening in the ARD "Tagesthemen". "We can benefit from the sympathy that she has among people."
With regard to the new appointment to the CDU party chair, Günther said that the candidate must clearly set the course of the Union and position itself in the political center. A clear demarcation to the right is necessary. The Union was in dire need of this, "especially after the past few weeks."
CDU chair: Markus Söder wants decision independent of chancellor candidacy
Update from Monday, February 17th, 2020, 8:31 pm: CSU leader Markus Söder has called for a time separation between the decision about the CDU chairmanship and the question of the candidacy for chancellor. There is much to be said for not postponing the successor to CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer "endlessly," said Söder before a CSU board meeting in Munich. With the chancellor candidacy, however, he thinks it makes more sense not to make a decision until the end of this year or early 2021.
Söder said that the CSU does not interfere with who takes over the presidency of the sister party. It was different with the chancellor candidate: "The chancellor candidate can only be determined together." Söder did not want to commit himself to a favorite at the CDU chairmanship, but the CSU only supported someone who drew a line between the AfD and the AfD.
CDU chair: Armin Laschet speaks for management team
Update from Monday, February 17th, 2020, 8:15 pm: The North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) will not be in the Rhineland for the first time this year on Shrove Monday . "Terrible," he said on Monday to the German press agency in Düren. Unfortunately, "some strange meetings were scheduled in Berlin," said Laschet in carnival-irony.
In fact, the CDU Presidium meets on Rosenmontag in the capital - this is also about future leadership after the announced retirement of party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer .
Update from Monday, February 17th, 2020, 1:39 pm: Armin Laschet spoke for a management team at the CDU. "Anything that is a team, which includes the different skills of the different actors - and that must also be a few more than the three just mentioned - is good for the CDU as a People's Party," said Laschet on Monday in Aachen.
He could imagine a dual leadership like the SPD and the Greens "difficult, but different personalities with different tasks, I can imagine that".
Update from Monday, February 17th, 2020, 9:10 am: When looking for a new CDU leadership, there is increasing discussion within the party about a team solution. "We should discuss the idea that we are forming a team intensively in the next few days," said party vice-president Thomas Strobl on Sunday evening in the ZDF- "heute-journal". There may be efforts to form a team "in which the Strengths of all three applicants come into play ”.
CDU board - is a team the solution?
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn had not previously ruled out a team solution in the ARD “Report from Berlin”. In addition to North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Armin Laschet and former Union faction leader Friedrich Merz, Spahn is a candidate for the successor of party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Update from Sunday, February 16, 2020, 11:52 am: The deputy chairman of the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Carsten Linnemann, has urged the potential candidates for the CDU chairmanship to agree on an applicant. Linnemann, who had supported the defeated former faction leader Friedrich Merz in the 2018 board election, said the "Rheinischen Post" in Düsseldorf: "The value of an amicable settlement can be valued higher than a lengthy public brawl with contestants."
The party is hopeful that there will be a team solution and that the Union will not be split, the head of the SME and Economic Union of the CDU and CSU said, impressed by the outgoing chairman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's talks with Merz, Health Minister Jens Spahn and NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet in the next few days.
CDU Chair: First applications received in party headquarters
Update from Saturday, February 15th, 2020, 11:21 am: The first applications for the successor of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as party leader have already been received at the Berlin CDU party headquarters. "Two speculative applications have come from CDU membership," said party general secretary Paul Ziemiak of the Funke media group. However, the two applicants are not known nationwide.
Kramp-Karrenbauer surprisingly announced on Monday that she would refrain from running for office and leading the party. So far, three politicians have been discussed as possible candidates for her successor: Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn , North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Armin Laschet and former Bundestag parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz . None of them have publicly announced his application.
Update from Friday, 02/14/2020, 07.05 a.m .: In addition to Friedrich Merz, Jens Spahn also wants to take responsibility in the future. He confirmed this at an award ceremony in Berlin. How the CDU presidency and candidate for chancellor would be awarded to the Union would have to be decided "in the next few days and weeks". Despite inquiries, Spahn again refused to make a clear commitment to his own candidacy for the party presidency. He only referred to the difficult political situation in Germany, which requires clear action.
Merz is currently the most promising candidate for chancellor candidacy
According to a current opinion poll, Friedrich Merz is the most promising candidate for the CDU chairmanship. According to Infratest dimap's ARD “Germany Trend” published on Thursday evening, 40 percent of those questioned believe that the 64-year-old would be a good candidate for chancellor. However, 42 percent disagree.
Bavaria's Prime Minister and CSU chief Markus Söder, who has long since rejected a candidature, found 31 percent to be a suitable candidate for chancellor. NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet has 30 percent. Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn believes one in four (24 percent) is a good candidate for Chancellor.
Update from Thursday, February 13, 2020, 7:50 p.m .: Friedrich Merz has indirectly confirmed his willingness to run for the CDU chairmanship. He was ready to take responsibility, said Merz on Thursday evening at a medium-sized business forum in Berlin. However, Merz did not respond directly to the moderator's specific request as to whether he would run for the party chair and the chancellor candidacy. The Vice President of the CDU Economic Council said that he expected a decision on personnel issues probably by the summer break.
Merz distances itself from a union of values
Merz has also distanced himself from the conservative union of values: "It would be good if this union of values did not exist." He does not find it very sympathetic to what comes from this side. Merz also spoke of a cry for help that certain issues would no longer be discussed as some groups in the Union wished.
The power struggle in the CDU was also a topic in Maybrit Illner's ZDF talk. A confrontational CDU leadership waved friend and foe past the accident site of their self-inflicted catastrophe. and the fact that JU boss Tilman Kuban constantly had to give in to his constant abuse like an angry barker and wanted to emphasize again and again that the CDU was "Helmut Kohl's party" was a little uncomfortable in his pitiful despair.
Update from Thursday, February 13, 2020, 7.15 p.m .: Ex-Union faction leader Friedrich Merz accused the black and red coalition under Chancellor Angela Merkel (both CDU) of having harmed the political culture in the country. The grand coalition had significantly damaged the culture of dispute in the political center, Merz said on Thursday evening at a medium-sized business forum in Berlin. It was a big mistake for the FDP not to go into a Jamaican coalition with the Greens and the Union after the 2017 federal election, he added.
Merz clearly refused to cooperate with the AfD against the background of the process of forming a government in Thuringia. “There is no cooperation with these people for the Union. Regardless of the constellation. ”That is why the election of the FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich on Wednesday a week ago was“ something that must never be repeated ”. The Union must now ask how it could have happened that the AfD and the Left in Thuringia were so strong that the political center parties were unable to form a government.
Update from Thursday, February 13th, 2020, 5.20pm: The criticism of the union of values has become louder and louder in the past few days. It had recently become known that the chairman of the CDU- related association, Alexander Mitsch, had donated money to the AfD.
Now a high-ranking member is drawing consequences from what he says is a personal threat: Ralf Höcker, media lawyer and spokesman for the Union of Values since June 2019, said in a Facebook post that he was stepping down from all offices: "I had a long time ago Set of measures to protect my family [...]. However, what I have experienced today tops everything, ”he writes there. He was threatened with “blatant consequences”. That is why he decided: "I bow to the pressure and immediately resign from all my political positions and declare myself to leave all political organizations."
After the election of Thomas Kemmerich (FDP), the conservative union of values spoke out in favor of keeping the prime minister, who was also elected with AfD votes. Thereupon there was sharp criticism, among other things one could hear from the CDU workers wing: "We do not need an AfD auxiliary force in our ranks"
"I was made very clear two hours ago," Höcker explained on Facebook, "that I have to end my political engagement immediately if I don't want to fear 'consequences'. The announcement was credible and unequivocal. I bow to that Print."
- The news (@DLFnews) February 13, 2020Union in crisis: who will succeed AKK?
Update from Thursday, February 13, 2020, 2:20 pm: According to its chairman Tilman Kuban, the Junge Union (JU) will determine who it wants to support as a candidate for Union chancellor by means of a member survey . "We will conduct an internal survey, I promised that I would like to involve the members more," said the head of the CDU and CSU youth organization on Thursday in the RTL / ntv program "Frühstart". The survey should produce a picture of the mood of the young generation of the Union, only then would the JU publicly stand behind one of the possible candidates.
JU wants to have AKK's successor voted
At the party congress in November, the Junge Union failed in trying to get a member decision on the candidate for chancellor in the federal party. The delegates had rejected this by a large majority at the instigation of the party leadership.
Update from Thursday, February 13, 2020, 7:00 a.m .: The change at the top of the CDU could be completed faster than initially expected. For the new election of the chairman, a special party conference can "of course" be called, which takes place before the regular party conference scheduled for December, it said from the CDU federal center. "How and where this could take place is not scheduled."
However, there will soon be more clarity about this - namely when the outgoing party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer will, as announced, hold talks with the prospective buyers from next week. At the presidium meeting on February 24, she would then "provide information on the current status of developments," said the Adenauer House. Kramp-Karrenbauer is “in constant contact” with CSU boss Markus Söder.
Update from Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 5.41 p.m .: Ex-Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz wants to apply for the CDU chairmanship. The DPA in Berlin learned this from its surroundings in the afternoon. However, he has not yet confirmed this information himself.
Merz is determined to run, knows the party base behind it and feels encouraged by current polls , it said.
AKK successor: Merz is in the race for CDU chairmanship
Speculations that he would be willing to become Minister of Economics under a possible party leader Armin Laschet are a theoretical scenario, the 64-year-old said. Possible positions could not yet be distributed.
At the same time, Merz emphasized that he was open to a member survey , but not for a binding member decision. Merz polarizes, in his party as well as in society, but he should still have a good chance of winning the party leadership of the CDU. With Merz, two days after Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's announcement that party leader would withdraw, the first candidate dared to run out of cover. Merz had already applied for party leadership in autumn 2018, but was just inferior to Kramp-Karrenbauer at the party conference in December 2018.
After the announcement, CDU circles said that the party was expected to find an amicable solution to the personnel issues and that a team that would be running for the next Bundestag election, not individual candidates. It is difficult to determine a time for the reorganization of the CDU. There are good reasons against a quick change, but also against a late change.
Update from Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 5.15 p.m .: The outgoing CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer wants to start talks about her successor next week. In doing so, she wants to coordinate the further process with potential candidates, reports the AFP news agency, referring to party circles.
AKK successor: Three men as possible successors
Three men emerge as possible applicants: In addition to North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Armin Laschet, ex-Union faction leader Friedrich Merz and Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn are traded. From CDU circles it is also possible that Kramp-Karrenbauer will meet with CSU chief Markus Söder this weekend on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference and discuss the procedure.
Update from Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 1.35 p.m .: Wolfgang Schäuble, President of the Bundestag, opposed demands to clarify the decision about the future CDU leadership and the candidate for chancellor by summer. The Christian Democrat advocated in the "time" to decide "about the personnel questions" only at the end of the year.
CDU chair: Schäuble comments
When asked about the future of the popular parties, Schäuble said: “If we think we have to do things the way we did in the 1970s and 80s, we are not needed. We are needed when we have an answer to how the world worked in the twenties and thirties of this millennium. ”
He also referred to this as the meaning of the new policy program on which the CDU is working - "and we haven't really started with that yet". "Therefore, we should not stop now and have the strength not to give in to the pressure of some media and only decide on personnel issues at the end of the year."
Update from Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 7:20 a.m .: Friedrich Merz warned the CDU of personnel feuds in the search for a new chairman. When appearing at the annual reception of the CDU Economic Council Saxony-Anhalt in Magdeburg, the former head of the Union faction also considered himself undercover with regard to his own ambitions for the successor of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Merz comments on the AfD
Merz emphasized on the search for candidates: “I want us to do it in a decent manner. And I will help ensure that this decent form is maintained. ”He wants to make every effort to ensure the unity and unity of the Union. At the same time, he warned that the CDU had to "keep the nerve to discuss these issues in detail beyond personnel issues."
Friedrich Merz is a candidate for the CDU chair.
© picture alliance / dpa / Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert
Merz thinks "nothing at all" of a membership decision. With a view to the month-long search for candidates for the SPD chairmanship, Merz warned: “See what comes out of it. Is that a good role model for the CDU? I strongly advise against it. "
At the same time, he emphasized that the majority of AfD voters could be won back because they were primarily protest voters. At the same time, he urged a clear demarcation from the AfD. "At no time should there be any doubt that the Christian Democratic Union of Germany has no willingness, in whatever form, to work with the enemies of our democracy."
Update from Tuesday, February 11, 2020, 7:01 pm: After the announced withdrawal of CDU boss Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer , CSU boss Markus Söder has warned the sister party of a "total break with the Merkel era". "That would be wrong," said Söder of the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung". Germany needs "a stable government with an internationally respected chancellor".
Söder also contradicted Kramp-Karrenbauer's request that the CDU presidency also decide on the Union's candidacy for chancellor. First, the strategic questions would have to be clarified, "then the party chairmanship of the CDU , then the joint candidate for chancellor of the CDU and CSU and finally a future team, some of which can already be reflected in the cabinet". A cabinet reshuffle should be "natural", said Söder.
CDU crisis after Thuringia election: Söder for Ramelow's withdrawal
On the candidate question, the Bavarian Prime Minister asked everyone in the Union to "put their personal vanities on the back burner". In the CDU, it was necessary to weigh up "who is trusted to have the greatest integration power". "If you don't manage to hold the CDU together, you won't develop any integration power for Germany," said Söder. For the Union, it is "all or nothing". The situation is "much more serious than at the time of the donation affair".
Söder suggested the previous Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left) had withdrawn from the situation in Thuringia: "It would be thanks to Mr. Ramelow if he withdraws himself so that the country can be governed quickly."
Update from Tuesday, February 11, 2020, 7:01 p.m .: Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) speaks plainly about the election of Thomas Kemmerich in Thuringia and how it came about: Kemmerich's election had happened with an announcement - everyone in the Thuringian CDU had known several days in advance that this can only be done with the help of the AfD, Merkel said. You and the Federal Party had given a clear warning of this, but had not made it public in order to avoid the impression that you wanted to give instructions from Berlin. "Everyone knew that there was a ruse by the AfD" in the room.
CDU crisis: Merkel accounts with the AfD
At the same time, Merkel criticized the absurdity of the Left Party , SPD and Greens giving the impression that there was an obligation for the CDU to elect ex-Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow from the Left, Merkel criticized.
The Chancellor went to court with the right-wing populists from the AfD : The AfD wanted to destroy democracy. "The AfD has a very clear agenda," said Merkel, according to participants in the meeting of the Union faction. “And this agenda is also a particular challenge for us, especially when it comes to the CDU, because it is very clear that democracy is to be destroyed. (...) That you want to undermine them. ”You experience this in every session of the Bundestag.
Against the background of the events in Thuringia, Merkel emphasized where, last week, the CDU, together with the AfD, had elected FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich as prime minister that the CDU had a delimitation decision to the left and a clear vote, “that we do not have a common one Do thing with the AfD ”. In this sense, the things between the linker and the AfD are "readably the same, so to speak, but they are still differently positioned," said the Chancellor.
CDU crisis: former Chancellor Schröder criticizes Merkel
The AfD argue that a turnaround 2.0 is needed. That means that what exists today as a free democratic state is nothing more than the elites of the past. “If you do not oppose this, you will also be the victim of this argument. And that's why we have to do it with all our might, ”Merkel demanded from her party.
Update from Tuesday, February 11th, 2020, 6:49 pm: Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), in the opinion of former chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD), made a "fatal mistake" when she remained chancellor after her withdrawal as CDU leader. Merkel has thus created a difficult situation to control, said Schröder on Tuesday in the talk format "overtime" of the media startup Media Pioneer.
"Because you didn't really know who was in charge, the chancellor or the chairwoman." Merkel kept the notebook in her hand because CDU boss Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer didn't want or couldn't. "I think a fatal mistake has been made," said Schröder.
CDU crisis: Schröder has favorites for the chair
When asked about the successor to Kramp-Karrenbauer, Schröder showed sympathy for NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet . Former Union faction leader Friedrich Merz, on the other hand, made mistakes in the competition for the party chairmanship and "showed a lack of flair for intra-party developments". He was too ambitious too early.
Update from Tuesday, February 11th, 2020, 5.25pm: The day after Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's surprising announcement that she would give up the CDU party chairmanship and not want to run as a candidate for Chancellor, leading CDU politicians are urging quick clarification regarding the successor.
Ralph Brinkhaus , leader of the CDU parliamentary group, warned in Berlin that "there is a danger that we will now miserably spend a long time debating personnel issues" - but people want to quickly return to technical work because they have "thick, thick boards" in front of them, he said CDU politician before a parliamentary group meeting in Berlin.
After AKK leaving: CDU politician wants party conference before summer break
The CDU foreign politician Norbert Röttgen wants a decision before the parliamentary summer break. In Berlin, Röttgen advocated calling a party congress before the summer break to regulate the successor to Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Union group vice-president Carsten Linnemann said that he doubted that the party could wait until Christmas. "A faster decision would be good for all of us."
The top candidate of the CDU in the Hamburg state election campaign, Marcus Weinberg , demands quick clarity: It would be "smart and important for the party" that the three potential candidates for chancellor "communicate as soon as possible", he told the newspapers of the Funke Mediengruppe (Wednesday edition). “Armin Laschet stands for the liberal wing. Friedrich Merz for the economic wing. And Jens Spahn stands for the coming generation. "
Update from Monday, February 10th, 2020, 9:31 pm: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer emphasizes that she wants to work for the continuation of the grand coalition. The CDU had always said that "it wanted to bring this legislative period to a proper end," said Kramp-Karrenbauer in the evening on ARD. It had been agreed that "it would remain with the Merkel government ".
CDU crisis: Scholz does not see coalition in danger after leaving AKK
Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees the announced withdrawal of CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as no threat to the continued existence of the coalition. “The grand coalition will do its job. It is obliged to do this, ”said Scholz in an ARD“ focus ”. Even in previous coalitions, there had been changes in party leaders who "accompanied" government work. "That doesn't have to stop you from doing your job properly," added the SPD politician.
Update from Monday, February 10th, 2020, 8:52 pm: It has not yet been 24 hours since Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has announced her withdrawal from the CDU leadership, as speculation about her successor is cheerfully shooting up.
According to "Focus Online", talks are currently underway between the three most traded candidates from the CDU who would be there: Friedrich Merz , Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn and NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet . According to this, the trio wanted to agree on a succession arrangement to pacify the party.
CDU crisis: Armin Laschet takes over from Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer?
According to information from "Focus Online", the following scenario would currently be the most likely: If Laschet wants, he can lead the party. Spahn would then be promised the presidency of the parliamentary group for the period after the election. Friedrich Merz, on the other hand, would have to “line up” with the prospect of an important ministerial position. Naturally, there has so far been no confirmation of this speculation that the upcoming CDU leadership is made up of one or more of these three politicians, but it is very likely.
Update from Monday, February 10th, 2020, 6.50 p.m .: CSU boss Markus Söder urges the CDU sister party to clarify its leadership question quickly. "I think it is necessary to find at least one decision-making path earlier than during the year," he said in an interview with Bayerischer Rundfunk, which was to be broadcast in the evening. "Possibly doing a beauty contest now, who is better where and when will not bring more stability."
The CDU chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer had previously stated that she would not become candidate for chancellor of the Union and would like to give up the party presidency in the foreseeable future. If it is up to the AKK, the question of the candidature for chancellor should only be clarified in the summer. The candidate for chancellor - at the moment practically only men are being traded for the successor - is then to be elected as the successor to the Saarland leader at the party congress in December.
CDU candidate for chancellor: Söder urges AKK to hurry
Söder himself had previously stated several times that he was not interested in being a candidate for chancellor. He now confirmed this on Bavarian radio: " My location is in Bavaria and my anchor, I am in the word with the Bavarian voters." He was convinced that there was someone "in the CDU who absolutely wanted".
At the same time, Söder assessed the situation as serious. "It's not all a 'game thing' now," he said. "It's about the future of the CDU, it's about the stability of popular parties and also about the stability of the federal government."
Update from Monday, February 10, 2020, 2:40 p.m .: The outgoing CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has declared the separation of the chancellorship and party presidency to have failed. "The separation of the chancellery and party chairmanship, the open question of the chancellor's candidacy, weakens the CDU," said Kramp-Karrenbauer on Monday after committee meetings of her party, in which she announced her withdrawal from the party presidency in the summer.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer initially wants to remain chair
Kramp-Karrenbauer claimed to organize the selection of the candidate for chancellor and then to propose party leadership to the candidate. She wanted "to stay as long as the party leader" until the candidate question has been resolved.
It had "shown up to the very last days" that the separation of the chancellery and party chairmanship " goes hand in hand with an unresolved leadership question - namely the question of the candidacy for chancellor," said Kramp-Karrenbauer. She combined this with a swipe at her internal critics: "Despite two party conventions, this question has not come to rest and, according to the will of some, should not come to rest in the future either."
Kramp-Karrenbauer indicated that she wanted to actively influence the process of candidate selection. For her, it was "very clear" that she could make this process "much more freely by not using her own candidature," she said. Now no one can assume that she does this "out of her own interest".
According to Kramp-Karrenbauer's idea, the candidate for chancellor should be clarified in the summer, and the candidate should then be chosen at the federal party conference in December, as previously provided; then this should also take over the party chairmanship. The CDU is stronger if the chair and candidate for chancellor are “in one hand”.
AKK confirms the CDU's demarcation from the AfD and the Left Party
Kramp-Karrenbauer went on to say that "this decision" has "matured in me for quite some time". On Monday morning, she informed Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and then the bodies of her party.
Kramp-Karrenbauer, for example, rejected the request by the conservative Union of Values for a member survey: the party conference in Leipzig in November had already rejected a corresponding application. The decisions on the chancellor candidacy and party chairmanship would be made at a party convention.
Kramp-Karrenbauer confirmed the demarcation of the CDU to AfD and Left Party. "Any rapprochement with the AfD weakens the CDU," she said. The Left Party is clear that its "history and program" is "absolutely incompatible" with the principles of the CDU.
After their announced withdrawal, Kramp-Karrenbauer sees no effects on the grand coalition. "If I have my way, it won't affect the stability of the grand coalition," she said. She pointed out that she was still party leader "and will remain so for the foreseeable future". She will work for the continuation of the coalition.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer refrains from being chancellor
First announcement from February 10, 2020: The CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer no longer wants to become candidate for chancellor. This was announced by the politician on Monday in the CDU presidium, as a CDU spokesman in Berlin explained.
She will also give up the CDU chairmanship in the foreseeable future, according to party circles. Rather, she wanted "to organize the process of running for Chancellor in the summer, prepare the party for the future and then hand over the party chair".
In the presidium, Kramp-Karrenbauer said that there was "an unexplained relationship between parts of the CDU with AfD and the left. Kramp-Karrenbauer explained that it was “strictly against cooperation with the AfD and the Left”. Currently, this is exactly the point of contention within the Union, how the party behaves towards the AfD and the Left, or whether a rejection of both parties is equally justified.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is accused of weak management
For Kramp-Karrenbauer, it was also "obvious that the party presidency and chancellorship as well as chancellor's candidacy belonged in one hand," it said. Therefore, she does not aim to run for Chancellor. The fact that she acted as Chancellor candidate and party leader alongside Angela Merkel was always interpreted as a disadvantage.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer had recently returned to the focus of the discussion in the context of the election of the Prime Minister in Thuringia. She was accused of lacking leadership within her own party. After the election debacle in Erfurt, she had asked the Thuringian CDU state association to distance itself from Kemmerich's election and not to support him as prime minister. She had called for the presidential decision to be enforced for new elections.
Merkel comments on AKK resignation
Despite their announcement, the CDU politicians around Mike Mohring had expressed willingness to talk to the now resigned Prime Minister Kemmerich, distanced themselves from new elections and thus demonstrated the lack of influence of the CDU chairmen.
Chancellor Merkel spoke up after Kramp-Karrenbauer's resignation and spoke out in favor of Kramp-Karrenbauer remaining as Minister of Defense. She also expressed her great thanks.
Left Party leader Katja Kipping also spoke. she fears that the CDU is heading for a coalition with the AfD. "AKK's merit was that it kept the delimitation of the Union to the right and thus preserved the soul of the Union," said Kipping on Monday in Berlin. "The fight for AKK's successor will be a directional argument," added the left chairwoman. Now come Friedrich Merz, "then the CDU will soon coalition with the AfD." (With afp)
Read the current events surrounding the election of the Prime Minister in Thuringia in the ticker of FR.
After a compulsory break due to illness, “Hard but fair” moderator Frank Plasberg is back. Topic of the illustrious group: The severe crisis of the CDU.
The AfD receives a large donation from the Berlin asset manager Christian Krawinkel. The donor's wish: The amount should go to Thuringia.
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List of rubric lists: © picture alliance / dpa / Kai Nietfeld
