The first farewells to the Union can be heard abroad.
The fact is: The CDU continues to argue about Laschet's successor and the new course.
Clearer words are also used.
Berlin / Brussels - The political era of Angela Merkel is coming to an end with great strides - on Friday the leaders of the EU bid farewell to the outgoing Chancellor with a big tam-tam.
In Berlin, the traffic lights are already starting to show the Merkel legacy.
Only the CDU continues to revolve around itself without a clear future perspective. Also on Friday there were again little edifying prognoses and debates among the Christian Democrats.
Abroad, the situation of the once proud Chancellor Party is already causing some frowns.
The largest Spanish daily newspaper,
El País
, attested the CDU and CSU on Friday a “double depression” in view of Merkel's departure and the election result.
In the case of Armin Laschet's successor, answers to new “global problems” must now be found, the paper oracle - and painted a gloomy scenario: “For a long time, the center-right force of Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl was the conservative on the whole continent an example.
Their implosion could have a destabilizing effect and could be exploited by the extreme right to win dissatisfied voters for ultra-populist parties. "
CDU: right or center?
Directional debate is looming - Röttgen warns of "foolish" mistakes
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Did not run: Armin Laschet and Angela Merkel at the last campaign appearance before the federal election.
© Revierfoto / www.imago-images.de
It remains to be seen whether there will be a CDU “implosion” in the near future.
In fact, shortly before the weekend, two closely linked problems simmered audibly among the Christian Democrats: The party still does not agree on who should be chosen as the new party leader and how.
At the same time, the new direction is being struggled with.
Just as Hans-Peter Friedrich, former CSU interior minister, predicted a few days ago.
The direction zoff crystallized, among other things, in the new Union-related campaign project "The Republic". With pithy words, the platform wants to become an “extra-parliamentary voice” for the CDU and CSU. And meets with her course on sometimes violent alienation. In an interview with the website
nw.de,
Dennis Radtke, Vice of the Christian Democratic Workforce CDA, reprimanded
a “creepy and empty conservatism term” and “unbearable gurgling”. "The Republic" is "extremely dangerous and toxic", distracts from the real problems in the country and is light years away from them, said Radtke. Nevertheless, you have to take the platform very seriously.
Ex-presidential candidate Norbert Röttgen also warned of excursions to the far right on Thursday evening in the ZDF talk “Maybrit Illner”.
“I am quite sure that the future and the renewal of the CDU lies in the middle, can only lie.
Anything else would be a mistake and would bring us to the edge of society, ”he warned:“ It would be foolish, stupid and suicidal. ”More debates are likely to follow: The election results of September 26th had raised questions - for example, whether Losses of the Union were due to Merkel's lack of traction among voters who were definitely also SPD-affine, or rather due to an unclear profile.
Laschet successor in the CDU chairmanship: Country chief doubts agreement - "I don't see it yet"
One way or another, a new election of the entire CDU board at a party congress in December has been announced - and a process of membership participation.
Nevertheless, on Friday there was a dispute about how to proceed and there was speculation about very practical perspectives.
The chairman of the Junge Union, Tilman Kuban, insisted in the
world
on a membership decision to determine a new party chairman.
Lower Saxony's CDU leader Bernd Althusmann was meanwhile from a renewed candidacy for the leadership of the party.
"It would undoubtedly be advantageous if the CDU could agree on a candidate," said Althusmann to the editorial network in Germany.
"I don't see that yet." Althusmann rejected equal representation.
Union in crisis: JU boss wishes a "fresh young team" after Laschet
"If the CDU wants to be a modern people's party and attractive to new, young members, it needs a member survey now," said Kuban meanwhile.
He announced that he would promote the party's controversial membership decision at the conference of CDU district chairmen scheduled for October 30.
With regard to the party chairmanship, Kuban said he would "very much like women to run for office, for example."
But a team is also important.
"If we fail to connect several new minds with convincing topics, then it will be very difficult to embody a modern people's party," he said.
“Therefore, in addition to the chairperson, you also need a fresh, young team at the top of the party and parliamentary group.” After all: In North Rhine-Westphalia, a successor to Laschet as the state party leader will be elected on Saturday.
Recently, some prominent CDU members of the Bundestag had declared their withdrawal in the spirit of upheaval.
CDU: New program could be a bigger project - is Merkel complicit?
According to the assessment of the former Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe, the CDU has to wait longer for a new basic program. Two to three years are realistic, said the deputy Union parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, the
Rheinische Post
. "A quick shot, the focus of which would then rather be dealing with the past or working through a traffic light coalition, would be a missed opportunity." An intensive discussion about the core and principles of the party is necessary.
At precisely this point,
El País
also
assumed that Angela Merkel had failed: "Merkel is leaving her party without having given her a program to shape the future in such central areas as the fight against climate change and the promotion of development," it said in the comment of the left-liberal newspaper.
(
fn / AFP
)
List of rubric lists: © Revierfoto / www.imago-images.de
