Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet reacts to taunts and warns Markus Söder against “laying the ax on the pillars of representative democracy”.
Munich / Berlin - The ongoing dispute in the Union does not come to rest: CSU boss Markus Söder poked at the weekend in the Franconian homeland against Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet (CDU).
Compared to the
Nürnberger Nachrichten
, he spoke of an “outdated understanding of democracy” - and by that meant the vote on the candidate for chancellor in the CDU executive committee.
From his point of view, there is a great desire on the part of citizens to participate in times of high opportunities for participation through social media and basic surveys.
“You can't ignore that,” Söder continued.
Laschet reacts to criticism - and warns Söder
In an interview with the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
on Sunday,
Laschet was
unimpressed by the criticism. He could only win a diverse state like North Rhine-Westphalia with a “progressive agenda and a modern management style”. The same applies to Germany. Laschet indirectly issued a warning to Söder to “lay the ax on the pillars of representative democracy”. However, Markus Söder tried to dispel the irritation about the term “back room” and has since made it clear that he supports the idea of representative democracy, Laschet pointed out.
Söder had previously also
stated
in the
Süddeutsche
that he was not convinced by the reasons for Laschet's candidacy for chancellor.
He indirectly accused Laschet of "making a Helmut Kohl 2.0 policy" after the progressive Merkel years.
Daniel Caspary, head of the CDU / CSU group in the European Parliament, said with a view to Söder: "I hope the prick stops very soon."
Söder vs. Laschet: Chancellor candidacy decided, disagreement persists
On the night of April 20, Laschet had already won the CDU board vote and was thus elected candidate for chancellor. 31 out of 46 voting board members voted for Laschet as candidate for chancellor. Söder received nine votes and six abstained. While the CDU showed unity in its vote, doubts arose from the CSU.
CSU General Secretary Markus Blume said, for example, that Markus Söder was "clearly the candidate of the heart".
The Secretary General was referring to previous surveys.
These had shown Söder a head start on the party base.
Laschet was also
not impressed by
this in an interview with the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
.
“We all know that surveys are constantly changing,” says Laschet.
“I am who I am and I compete with my convictions.
Trust is more important to me than tactics. "
Laschet proposes a committee made up of CDU and CSU to elect the candidate for chancellor
Laschet also defended his election by the CDU committees. Democratically elected representatives are important in a people's party of 400,000 members. "Consensus can only be achieved together, not by referring to a basis that is difficult to define," continues Laschet. A basic mood, somehow felt by some, could not alone be decisive in the end.
Laschet also issued the goal that the Union should remain "the strongest force". In contrast to Markus Söder, he did not give a specific number. Söder, on the other hand, had previously declared 35 percent as the target. With a view to the future, one could think about creating a joint committee made up of the CDU and CSU that is legitimized to decide on the candidate for chancellor, explained Laschet. The FDP named the Chancellor candidate with a view to the federal election on September 26, 2021 as a suitable coalition partner and added: "The voters decide which coalitions are possible."