Armin Laschet indicates the withdrawal - the start signal for some potential heirs.
The tussle over the party leadership is apparently already starting, some statements make one sit up and take notice.
News ticker.
CDU boss Armin Laschet indicated readiness to withdraw on Thursday.
Now several prominent CDU * and CSU * politicians are calling for a speedy exit.
(
Update from October 8, 2:40 p.m.
)
The CDU member Amthor considers an amicable search for a new party leader to be a "pious wish".
(Update from October 8th, 5.45pm)
This news ticker is continuously updated.
Update from October 8th, 5.45 p.m.:
The CDU member of the Bundestag Philipp Amthor has great doubts that agreement can be established on all sides in the search for a new party leader.
"It is a pious wish that a candidate for consensus should be found," said Amthor of the
Schweriner Volkszeitung
on Friday.
When it came to the successor to Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) as chairman, Amthor supported the former Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz (CDU). Now he simply said: “Friedrich Merz must first decide for himself whether he wants to compete again. We should now agree on the procedure first, then on the person. "
Merz said on the ZDF program “Maybrit Illner” *: “Whether I run again for the party chairmanship or not, that is a question that I have not dealt with conclusively.” A renewed candidacy in a fight vote at a federal party conference closed but he off
(see first report)
.
He thinks it is right “that we are talking about membership participation”.
He hopes that Laschet will manage to "moderate a process that will ultimately result in a joint proposal".
Klöckner on the situation of the CDU: "We also need a programmatic readjustment"
Update from October 8, 3:45 p.m.:
The CDU is discussing a new line-up at the top.
But in the eyes of Julia Klöckner, this is not enough: “We must not make the mistake of thinking that all questions can be solved with a new head.
We also need a programmatic readjustment, ”tweeted the Federal Minister of Agriculture.
"With a clever way that integrates the parliamentary group, party wing, working groups and the grassroots, before the decisions." The exact plan of how the CDU will approach the reorganization and who is allowed to have a say is still unclear.
Armin Laschet is vague - pressure to leave the CDU and CSU quickly
Update from October 8th, 2:40 pm:
Vague and clauses, but still: On Thursday, CDU leader Armin Laschet indicated his willingness to withdraw and to “reorganize” the party (
see initial report
).
Now pressure comes to a quick exit - from the CDU, but also from the CSU.
"I expect this reorganization to take place quickly and to be completed this year," said CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt on Friday to
Munich Merkur *
.
When asked by
Bild,
Minister of Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier hit the
same note: “The CDU must be renewed quickly,” he said.
CSU boss Markus Söder - in the Laschet case, has now also been criticized - expressed himself.
“We take note of Armin Laschet's decision with great respect.
As the CSU, we will continue to work closely and constructively with the CDU, ”said the Bavarian Prime Minister of the dpa.
"If the probes fail at the traffic lights, we are of course available for further talks for Jamaica," he added.
+
Armin Laschet leaves the stage after his statement on Thursday.
© Political Moments / Imago
Laschet indicates withdrawal: Succession candidates get started immediately - first alliances recognizable?
Initial report:
Berlin / Munich - Germany is looking for a new government - but for the time being without the eternal CDU Chancellor Party: It is still mainly concerned with its own party leader: Armin Laschet announced a new line-up on Thursday *, but remained so vague that even CDU ministers faltered in interpreting his words *.
It is all the more striking that leading Christian Democrats quickly came up with their own interpretation.
Meanwhile, however, criticism of the CSU from Laschet's on-off opponent Markus Söder * is also growing.
Laschet leaves many questions unanswered - Merz wants to quickly start looking for a successor
Friedrich Merz, among others, quickly pushed the debate in a clear direction after the Laschet press conference: "Armin Laschet * paves the way for the new beginning of the CDU today," he tweeted.
"For this he deserves respect, thanks and great recognition," he added - there had not been any friendly words for Laschet from the Union for a long time.
Merz's first reactions also made it clear how many unanswered questions the party now has.
For example, whether and what perspective there is still for a possible Jamaica coalition.
Until the “new beginning”, Laschet will remain party leader and thus also the contact person for the FDP and the Greens, said the former Union parliamentary group leader.
Whether they can negotiate with a CDU chairman on demand remains open, however *.
Especially since Merz now wants to act quickly: As early as Monday, the board of directors should talk about membership in the freestyle of the new party leader, he explained in the ZDF talk "Maybrit Illner".
Merz only ruled out his own candidacy for one scenario: If the CDU federal party congress alone decides again.
He had flashed Merz twice in 2018 and 2021.
The Conservative is now rowing towards the participation of all members.
Merz as Laschet's successor?
Amthor gives rifle aid - another candidate is already complimenting the party leader
Merz seemed to receive support from CDU young talent Philipp Amthor.
He called for a “broad legitimation base” in the search for a Laschet successor on the Phoenix TV station.
He also defended Merz.
This was "not the troublemaker".
"Quite the opposite: Like hardly anyone else, he fought hard at Armin Laschet's side even after his defeat, and even now I cannot see any obstructive behavior." There is already an initial survey on possible Laschet heirs - she also sees Norbert Röttgen in favor of the voters.
+
Get along well: Philipp Amthor and Friedrich Merz toast at a joint appearance (archive picture).
© dpa / Bernd Wüstneck
The Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) - in some cases also acted as a possible new leadership figure * - presented Laschet with a verbal farewell bouquet: Laschet's step was the right one to "save further agonizing internal party discussions," he told the
Rheinische Post
: " I would like to thank Armin Laschet for this step and his commitment to the CDU in recent years. "
Laschet's cryptic explanation: the expert sees “announcement of resignation” - but remains skeptical about the implementation
Elsewhere, experts were called in to interpret Laschet's declaration. This should be seen as a “resignation announcement”, said the Bonn political scientist Julia Reuschenbach on Friday in the “Morgenmagazin” of the radio station WDR 5. He is trying to “save face” to keep the booklet in hand for the coming weeks. "He is also trying to arrange his succession himself" - similar to what he has just initiated in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Reuschenbach said that one could trust Laschet with his desire to "somehow tie together" different aspirants.
But it is something different, whether it is about offices in North Rhine-Westphalia or about the CDU federal chairmanship and possible “opposition leadership” in the federal government.
The federal party has a lot of work to do and must quickly “close the bag”.
She has been making a divided impression for years, the basic program she is aiming for has "petered out". In addition, it has failed to combine different directions such as conservatism and economic liberalism *.
Laschet goes well: Confidants criticize CSU boss Söder
Another delicate connection remains that of the CDU and CSU.
Laschet's "future team" made allegations in the direction of Munich on Friday.
Security expert Peter Neumann makes the Christian Socials jointly responsible for the election debacle.
"One of the sore points in the Union was always that the party did not fully support Armin Laschet and Markus Söder * undermined him every other day," Neumann told the
Augsburger Allgemeine
.
The newspaper backed this thesis indirectly with the result of a survey.
In a survey by the Civey Institute, 48 percent of those questioned found Söder's behavior towards Laschet incorrect after the federal election, only 36 percent found it to be okay.
The German citizens are divided on the question of whether Söder is the new strong man in the Union.
44 percent believe that Bavaria's Prime Minister will now take on the decisive leadership role in the entire Union, 43 percent do not think so.
The rest of them replied undecided to the question: "Do you think that Markus Söder will now take on the decisive leadership role in the Union?"
(
fn / dpa / AFP
) *
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