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Baden-Württemberg's FDP state chief Michael Theurer wanted the traffic light
Photo: Christoph Schmidt / dpa
The power struggle in the Union is also closely followed by political competition.
Because whether Armin Laschet from the CDU or Markus Söder from the CSU prevails, could also have consequences for future coalitions after the federal election.
And for the upcoming election campaign: After all, Söder also has good poll numbers among FDP supporters, most recently of 45 percent.
Laschet, on the other hand, has been leading a coalition between his CDU and the FDP since 2017, has recently repeatedly praised the Free Democrats and was most recently a guest on the personal podcast of FDP chairman Christian Lindner.
In the dispute between the CDU and CSU over the chancellor candidate - an agreement was not yet in sight on Sunday afternoon - the Baden-Württemberg FDP state chief Michael Theurer intervenes.
The 54-year-old had recently explored a coalition with the Greens and the SPD in his home country, but in the end the Greens decided to continue the previous Green-Black coalition in Baden-Württemberg.
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Chancellor Angela Merkel, opponents Armin Laschet and Markus Söder: "I want to remain neutral."
Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa
On Sunday, Theurer made Chancellor Angela Merkel responsible and told SPIEGEL: "The Chancellor must finally do her part to end this unspeakable dispute and get Mr. Söder to withdraw and keep his word." Azerbaijan scandal in the Union Bundestag faction, the Zoff is not only damaging the CDU and CSU, but also politics as a whole.
In addition, the Chancellor was "putting her own European and foreign policy legacy and Germany's reliability at risk".
According to SPIEGEL information, Merkel has so far stayed out of the power struggle between Laschet and Söder.
In the CDU presidium, she said last Monday, in response to a question from the Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff, about her position: "I want to remain neutral."
Theurer, who is also the deputy head of the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag and a member of the federal executive committee, attacked the CSU chairman head-on.
Above all, he indirectly questioned Söder's foreign policy competencies: »Should Mr Söder actually become a candidate and chancellor, the Chancellor and the Union shouldn't be surprised if the CSU boss once again puts the ax on multilateralism, as was the case at the height of the refugee crisis lays the roots of Europe «, says Theurer, who was a member of the European Parliament for many years.
In addition, it was "a joke" that the prime ministers from North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria were fighting over the candidacy for chancellor, while at the same time the historic infection protection law is being "whipped up by the Bundestag and Bundesrat and the country is in the middle of the third wave".
Söder's stance on the FDP is ambivalent, after earlier criticism he last expressed his praise for the FDP on political Ash Wednesday in February, which was benevolently noted in the FDP leadership.
"The FDP would always be the priority partner if it was enough," Söder had declared.
And: FDP party leader Christian Lindner is a "very serious partner".
The FDP has recently again distinguished itself from the stance of the Union in its corona policy. She sharply criticized the adoption of the Infection Protection Act planned for next week, which grants the federal government more extensive rights than before. FDP leader Lindner also promised a lawsuit before the Federal Constitutional Court. If the law is passed in its current version, a lawsuit will be filed in Karlsruhe next week, according to Lindner.
