"Markus Lanz": After the thriller between Laschet and Söder - "What happened there was historical"

Will the Union crash?

After the thriller between Markus Söder and Armin Laschet, “Markus Lanz” was a hot topic with a view to the federal election.

On Thursday evening, “Markus Lanz” is primarily about one question: Will the Union crash after the decision for Armin Laschet as candidate for Chancellor?

After all, not all CDU-CSU supporters were enthusiastic about the victory of the CDU chief.

The showdown between Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and Laschet has therefore been a real ordeal to this day.

In an interview with Markus Lanz, CDU General Secretary Paul Ziemiak explains how he personally perceived the power struggle.

The former CSU deputy, Peter Ramsauer, on the other hand, comments on the Union's strategy in the upcoming federal election campaign.

While the politicians speak out only vaguely when it comes to the future of the Union, Eva Quadbeck, the deputy editor-in-chief of

RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland

, puts it in a nutshell

: “This is a really heavy mortgage for a short five-month election campaign! ”

"Markus Lanz" - these were his guests on April 22nd:

• Paul Ziemiak - CDU General Secretary

• Peter Ramsauer - former CSU vice

• Eva Quadbeck - Deputy Editor-in-Chief "RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland"

• Prof. Karl-Rudolf Korte - political scientist and party researcher

• Prof. Thorsten Lehr - pharmacist and expert at Saarland University

In the program on April 22nd, Ziemiak is switched on virtually and appears sober - even when ZDF presenter Markus Lanz asks kess: "Is massacre the right word to describe what has happened in the last few weeks?"

The CDU general secretary weighs it down and explains in a calm voice: “No, it was a completely normal process.

We had two offers, two successful prime ministers who said I would like to do that.

And then there are supporters, then there is advertising for one or the other.

Such a selection process is of course always a turning point in a party.

But that's nine times in a party. "

After the election of the Union's candidate for chancellor: "Laschet has no mobilized base"

Eva Quadbeck then vigorously clarifies: “It was definitely not a normal process! It is completely okay for parties to hold competitions within the party. But what happened there was definitely historical and very harmful to a party. It will be remembered for a long time. That should be classified in Kreuth in 1976 or the refugee crisis in 2018 - and now in 2021 the dispute over the candidacy for chancellor. Each time the Union has looked completely into the abyss. And each time it could only be ended with the greatest possible brutality. And every time the Union has gone out with really bad damage. That is a really heavy mortgage for the now very short election campaign of five months. Laschet has no mobilized base and there is still no electoral program. "

Party researcher Prof. Karl-Rudolf Korte adds: “I also see it that way that the sisters were on the verge of separating in such a way that there are two separate parties that no longer have a community in the Bundestag. That already had this explosive power. " Peter Ramsauer reacted calmly to a request from ZDF presenter Markus Lanz: “There is no recipe book on how to run a candidate for chancellor. You could see that last week, how difficult it is sometimes. " Eva Quadbeck continues: “Laschet and Söder could have agreed: How do we actually come to a solution? That culminated sometime on Monday evening in the CDU board of directors when they did not know how to vote digitally. Everything you did in the process was headless. "

Paul Ziemiak takes the side of Armin Laschet on “Markus Lanz” (ZDF): “The Chancellor with a big heart”

A tough accusation that Paul Ziemiak promptly defends himself against: “That is simply not true.

There is also no dissent between the CDU and CSU! "

Markus Lanz then wants to know: "If Markus Söder is the 'Chancellor of Hearts', what is Armin Laschet?"

Ziemiak reacts with a big grin: "The Chancellor with the big heart."

Quadbeck does not want to get involved in the joke.

Instead, she makes it clear: “The candidate of the heart - this will be remembered if it goes wrong on September 26th.

This is an incredibly symbolic term and is based on Lady Diana, who was the queen of hearts. "

When was the decision in favor of Laschet really made?

ZDF presenter Markus Lanz speculates that the die was cast on Sunday evening (April 18).

An evening on which Markus Söder flew in from Nuremberg and met five other men next to Laschet - including Paul Ziemiak.

The CDU general secretary admits: “That was so, we actually met at a late hour to discuss the situation.

We knew the sooner we make the decision, the better.

On this evening, the positions were once again very clearly exchanged. "

Conclusion of the show

At “Markus Lanz” on Thursday evening, CDU General Secretary Paul Ziemiak, journalist Eva Quadbeck and ZDF presenter Markus Lanz had a heated argument. Ziemiak is on the defensive when it comes to a possible crash of the Union and the power struggle between Markus Söder and Armin Laschet. Peter Ramsauer, on the other hand, looks to the political future of the Union and philosophizes: "Should it be the case that we do not achieve such good results in the upcoming federal election, it would also have its advantages."