At the 33rd party congress of the CDU, a new federal executive board and party chairman is elected.
Friedrich Merz is running again for this post - this time with great chances of success.
The 33rd party congress of the
CDU
, at which a new party chairman will be elected, is imminent.
Friedrich Merz is
running for the chair and is currently leading the polls.
He is regarded as the leading figure of the conservatives and earns recognition, but also a lot of criticism.
Berlin - On January 15 and 16, the 33rd CDU * party congress will take place as a digital event.
On this not only the entire federal executive committee will be elected, but also a new
party chairman
.
The candidates for this post are
Norbert Röttgen *
,
Friedrich Merz
and
Armin Laschet
.
Health Minister
Jens Spahn is
not
running
, but has been nominated as
Armin Laschet's
deputy
.
A survey by Infratest-Dimap for the
ARD
Germany trend on January 7, 2021 shows that
Friedrich Merz is
currently
ahead of
the
CDU supporters
with 29 percent.
According to the results of the study, 25 percent would currently vote
for
Armin Laschet *
and
Norbert Röttgen
.
Despite the fact that Merz is ahead, he has lost 10 percentage points compared to November.
Laschet
, on the other hand, was able to gain 10 percentage points.
Party leadership CDU: Merz leads in the survey, but loses support
It is currently unclear whether the future party leader of the
CDU will
also be nominated as a candidate for chancellor.
This still has to be
clarified
in consultation with the
CSU
.
According to a survey for the
ARD
Germany trend, 35 percent of eligible voters and 40 percent of Union voters consider
Friedrich Merz
to be a suitable candidate for Union chancellor.
This means that he is only behind
Markus Söder
(CSU)
in the polls
.
Friedrich Merz
is a lawyer and financial expert and comes from the Sauerland.
The 64-year-old already applied at the federal party conference at the end of 2018 to succeed Chancellor
Angela Merkel
.
However, the winner was
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
, who announced her resignation last year.
Merz
is seen by many as the leading figure of the conservatives.
In contrast to his competitor
Kramp-Karrenbauer,
he wanted
the conservative profile of the
CDU
more strongly
emphasize.
Friedrich Merz: Digitization and energy policy as priorities
Before the outbreak of the
corona
pandemic
,
Merz was
very present in the media and was perceived by many as a particularly ambitious candidate.
However, since the
Corona crisis
, it has become less noticeable.
In politics talk shows, he made only a few comments on current politics.
Most recently he criticized the resolutions of the EU special summit on the EU budget framework and the
Corona reconstruction fund *
.
Merz
advertises itself as an innovator to whom the topics of digitization and energy policy are important.
He also strives to expand the foundations of the party.
In this way, conservatives and liberals should be better integrated.
In addition, according to his own statement, action must be taken against right-wing radicalism in Germany.
He stands for a market economy orientation - also in climate policy.
In his opinion, a climate policy should not go hand in hand
with restrictions on fundamental rights or economic life
like the
Corona
policy
.
A coalition with the
Greens *
however, he does not rule it out.
On the contrary: in June, in an interview with Spiegel, he advocated a
black-green government coalition
.
Criticism of Merz: Legislative vote on rape in marriage
Merz
is primarily accused of inadequate innovation and, as a result, partly of backward-looking thinking and acting.
Many observers also doubt his ability to work in a team and criticize that he is too self-absorbed.
He is accused of still seeking personal revenge against
Angela Merkel *
and of smelling attacks and intrigues against himself at every opportunity.
He was particularly criticized after he questioned his attitude towards a homosexual
Federal Chancellor
when he expressed doubts
: "As long as this is within the framework of the law and as long as it does not affect children - at this point, however, an absolute limit has been reached - this is not a topic for public discussion ”.
He was also repeatedly noticed with derogatory comments towards women, which he dismissed as humor and irony.
In this context,
Merz continues
to be accused of having voted in the Bundestag in 1997 against the law that would make marital rape a criminal offense.
Merz as the future party chairman?
Support from the Junge Union
Although
Merz
has lost support since November 2020, he
is still ahead of his competitors
in the fight for the
CDU chairmanship *,
according to current polls.
Merz
enjoys
great popularity among
the party’s grassroots
. He will need this in the fight for the post of party chairman, since, unlike his competitors, he is not represented on a top committee.
Merz
is particularly popular
with the North German and East German regional associations. The
Junge Union
has also chosen him as its favorite candidate for party leadership. (
at) Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.