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Union faction leader Ralph Brinkhaus
Photo: Tobias Schwarz / AFP
Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus (CDU) does not want to commit to the party leaders of the CDU and CSU when the Union is running for chancellor.
Brinkhaus told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that he could also imagine other candidates.
"There are several people in the Union who I would trust to do this." At the CDU party conference in mid-January, a vote will only be taken on a new chairman - "and nothing else," said Brinkhaus.
Currently, the future CDU chairman and CSU boss Markus Söder are considered to be candidates for the Union's candidacy for chancellor.
Brinkhaus did not want to comment on his own ambitions to the »SZ«.
When asked whether he might be aiming for the candidacy for chancellor, he simply replied: "This interview is not heading in the right direction." When asked whether he would like to run for CDU leader at the party congress, Brinkhaus replied evasively.
"I have learned: for the chairman of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group it is never wise to categorically say no in such situations," he said.
“The parliamentary group, and therefore its chairman, must always have the right to play a leading role.
But we have three candidates. «NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet, the former parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz and ex-Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen are applying for the post of CDU chief.
Brinkhaus announced, however, that he wanted to remain group leader after the federal election.
“You can achieve a lot in this office.
And my group and I still have a lot of ideas. "
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kfr / AFP