Enlarge image
Brinkhaus (left) and Dobrindt: "The time is ripe"
Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa
The leaders of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group have asked CDU leader Armin Laschet and CSU chairman Markus Söder to clarify the question of the candidate for chancellor quickly.
"The time is ripe for us to make the decisions in the next two weeks," said CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt at the beginning of a closed meeting of the parliamentary group on Sunday in Berlin.
Union faction leader Ralph Brinkhaus said: "We are very interested in the whole thing going on quickly."
Laschet and Söder take part in the retreat at the invitation of the parliamentary group.
You want to take the floor in the early afternoon and talk about the current situation.
A decision on who will campaign for the CDU / CSU as chancellor candidate was not expected for Sunday.
However, the group expects clarity from the party leaders about "how the process should be designed," said Brinkhaus.
He assumes that the parliamentary group meeting will "accelerate" the decision.
"I think we're one step further tonight."
"I know that the two are talking about it and that these conversations are going on in a friendly manner," Brinkhaus continued.
With a view to the election of candidates, Dobrindt spoke of a "process" that the parliamentary group wanted to "accompany intensively".
"The MPs have a natural say," said Dobrindt.
Brinkhaus made a similar statement: "As a parliamentary group, it is important that we are part of this process."
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), who will no longer run after 16 years in office, also wanted to take part in the closed conference.
The actual topic of the closed conference are projects to modernize Germany.
Laschet and Söder are expected to make statements on this issue to the parliamentary group leadership.
When he arrived at the Reichstag building, Söder replied to the question of whether he would register his candidacy today: “Exciting times.
Or as a Bavarian connoisseur once said: Let's take a look, then we'll see. "
"The point now is simply to find a solution."
Union faction leader Ralph Brinkhaus
Brinkhaus had previously said that it was not a matter of filing claims for the candidacy.
“The point now is simply to find a solution.
And a solution that is good for the country, that is good for the two Union parties. «Other parties would be happy if they had such a choice.
Laschet and Söder had agreed to clarify the question of the candidate for chancellor between Easter and Pentecost.
Laschet said of the “Bild am Sonntag”: “If I take into account the broad mood of the CDU, the decision should be made very quickly.”
wit / dpa / AFP