Markus Söder fired a broadside towards Armin Laschet at the weekend.
That countered subtly.
But the dispute now seems to have practical consequences.
Update from April 16, 11.00 a.m.:
The situation in the aftermath of the Chancellor dispute between Markus Söder (CSU) and Armin Laschet (CDU) remains complex - according to information from the
picture
, Söder has an actually planned switch with Laschet on Monday morning (see first report) canceled at short notice. Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chancellor Helge Braun (both CDU) and the general secretaries of both parties should have been connected according to
Welt am Sonntag
.
Nothing is known about the background to the decision.
However, it is clear where Söder was on Monday morning: On the train.
The CSU boss shared a photo from a 1st class coach on an ICE on Twitter.
According to Söder, he was "on the way to Berlin for the vaccination summit": "We need more freedom for those who have been vaccinated and the rapid lifting of the vaccination prioritization."
An internal phone call in the open-plan car would hardly have been advisable.
Why Söder chose the train as a means of transport despite the apparently already set date, initially remained unclear.
Söder and Laschet in the public graver battle - now even braking in the must-do election campaign?
+
Söder or Laschet - or Söder AND Laschet?
The Union continues to occupy itself with the subject.
© Michael Kappeler / dpa / picture alliance
First report:
Munich / Berlin - The fight for chancellors in the Union is over - but that does not mean that the dispute between the CDU and CSU has been resolved in the year of the federal election: At the weekend, Markus Söder spoke in an interview with the
Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ)
fired a veritable barrage of taunts towards his ex-rival Armin Laschet.
The talk of a “Helmut Kohl 2.0 policy” was only the tip of the iceberg.
Söder let it be known again: He still considers himself the better candidate.
According to information from
Welt am Sonntag,
a telephone connection between Munich and Düsseldorf, Söder and Laschet is planned for
Monday
.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and General Secretaries Paul Ziemiak (CDU) and Markus Blume (CSU) should also be there.
In itself, that's not big news, the Monday call has been the norm for years.
But in the past week, according to the report, they had paused.
And now there could be explosive.
Because the newly crowned candidate for Chancellor Laschet also did an interview on Sunday.
And if you wanted to, you could see more taunts behind statesmanlike and soothing words.
Allegedly there are also hooks about the Union election program, which is already being worked on very late.
Laschet and Söder: Interview skirmish on the weekend?
CDU chief taunts the direction of the CSU
In his conversation with the
SZ,
Laschet was
much more conciliatory than Söder. But it is precisely in the emphasis on “fair play” that swipes at Söder and the CSU could be hidden. The CDU boss left unanswered the question of what he could do better than Markus Söder. "Such self-descriptions only serve as a navel gaze and damage the Union in case of doubt," said Laschet. And further: "I've always kept it that way and now I do it: I fight for my ideas, my goals - and don't talk about others."
Söder's complaint that the reason for Laschet's candidacy did not convince him also let it run into void in a rather telling way. “Our relationship is such that Markus can ask myself any open questions. There is no need for an interview from me ”- the implication seems not least: Söder's public scolding is unnecessary.
And the repeated accusation from Munich that not Laschet but Söder stand for modernity, countered the CDU boss even openly: “In recent years I had the impression that some in the CSU supported my ideas for modernizing our society and our country criticized. ”The
SZ
again named“ clear convictions ”
as necessary skills of a Federal Chancellor
.
Söder himself admitted slipping to the "dark side" before the Bavarian state elections in 2018.
Union in constant dispute?
The election platform for the Bundestag election could now become a matter of dispute
Even at the weekend, Laschet did not want to name a date for the presentation of a future team, which Söder had been calling for for a long time. However, the CDU leader let out a slight criticism of Angela Merkel's cabinet. "I've always said that I don't want a one-man show and that we need a team in which the different trends are visible," he emphasized. “I am currently missing the breadth of the currents in the list of the current federal government. That has to be different in the next cabinet. "
But apart from this struggles for positioning, Laschet also had very specific problems in the beginning election campaign.
On the one hand - unlike the Greens or FDP - there is still an election program that is still outstanding.
Green chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock
already
scoffed at a
taz
event at the weekend
about the absence of a clear election plan for the Union.
Actually, the General Secretaries Blume and Ziemiak have been entrusted with the joint development of the program for some time.
But according to
Welt am Sonntag
there is now a problem with the efforts.
Laschet and Ziemiak should go into the template can be heard from the CSU.
You can then add what is missing.
Possibly the next return coach.
In any case, this is not a good sign for the progress of the work.
Laschet before election campaign problems: Maaßen wants to run - and Merz step in in the east
And then there is the dispute over Hans-Georg Maaßen, who wants to become a CDU direct candidate in Saxony.
Söder and Laschet are unanimous in their rejection.
But presumably also in view of the struggle with the AfD in the eastern German federal states, Laschet remains cautious.
In the
SZ, he made
it clear
about such direct candidates “in a democratic process that the district associations decide”
.
It will be exciting in the east anyway. The state election in Saxony-Anhalt could create new dynamics. And obviously Friedrich Merz wants to step into the breach instead of Laschet in the Eastern countries that have recently been tending to the right. But it is also possible that Merz will remain as a “strong man of the Union” after the autumn election, as
Munich Merkur
commented. (
fn
)
