Armin Laschet resigns, Hendrik Wüst is to come as Prime Minister.
At the weekend, the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia wants to set the course for a new beginning.
The news ticker.
The CDU state party conference will take place in Bielefeld on Saturday (23 October).
Still-Prime Minister Armin Laschet is to be replaced by Hendrik Wüst.
This news ticker is continuously updated.
Update, October 23, 1:58 p.m.:
Hendrik Wüst is the new chairman of the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia.
At a state party conference in Bielefeld, the state transport minister and prime minister-designate was elected as Armin Laschet's successor with 98.3 percent on Saturday.
The 46-year-old Wüst had no opponent.
But Wüst still faces a major hurdle.
Because just four days after the election, he is to be elected Prime Minister in a special session of the state parliament.
There the CDU and FDP only have a very narrow majority with 100 out of 199 votes.
Wüst therefore needs the support of all 100 people.
Update from October 23, 12 noon:
The CDU federal chairman and still prime minister Armin Laschet warned his party at the state party congress not to bring about crisis scenarios after the Union's defeat in the federal election *.
To speak of the “greatest crisis of the CDU since 1945” is “complete nonsense”.
In addition, this inspires “no voter at all to re-elect the CDU”.
CDU crisis: Laschet speaks of "complete nonsense" at the state party conference
In his speech, Laschet pointed out that the CDU party donation affair in 2000 was a major crisis for the party. "Leave cups in the cupboard, approach things realistically," emphasized Laschet in Bielefeld. With these statements, he was probably referring to an interview with the Federal Minister of Health and CDU Federal Vice President Jens Spahn *. Spahn told Deutschlandfunk that the CDU was in the greatest crisis in its history. Spahn also takes part as a delegate at the state party conference of the NRW CDU.
Update from October 23, 11:45 a.m.:
The Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus gave a speech at the state party conference in Bielefeld in which he praised the work of the government of the outgoing Prime Minister Armin Laschet in North Rhine-Westphalia.
He described the government as exemplary for the CDU in the federal government.
According to Brinkhaus, if the CDU is to be rebuilt in the federal government, only one message can go out from Bielefeld.
Politics is a team sport in which "everyone" matters.
In his speech, Brinkhaus emphasized that when Laschet took office as state party leader in 2012, he set up the NRW CDU after its worst state election result and led it to the state government in 2017.
Update from October 23, 11:15 am:
CDU General Secretary Paul Ziemiak * supports the change at the top of the North Rhine-Westphalian CDU on Saturday (October 23) and describes it as a “sign of a new beginning”.
Current Prime Minister Armin Laschet is to be replaced by Hendrik Wüst, whom Ziemiak described as "the right man" to "continue the successful policy of the past four years".
He stands for a generation change at the head of the most populous federal state.
Ziemiak and Brinkhaus honor the work of the Laschet government in North Rhine-Westphalia
Ziemiak praised Armin Laschet's performance. He emphasized to the German Press Agency that the black and yellow government under his leadership had done “excellent work over the past four years”. The police and the judiciary have been strengthened, investments have been made in daycare centers and universities, and the economy has been unbureaucratised and unleashed. Wüst he announced that the CDU had to be anchored in the broader society and had to have answers to changed social realities. "This requires someone who moves forward with clear ideas, sets the pace and stands for programmatic renewal," says Ziemiak.
Update from October 23, 10.30 a.m .:
At the CDU state party conference in Bielefeld, the focus is on the state election on May 15, 2022, which is due in seven months also the people of North Rhine-Westphalia ”.
Transport Minister Hendrik Wüst is to be elected as the new state chairman at the party congress.
Procedure CDU party congress in NRW
At noon, Prime Minister Laschet will give a speech in which he will presumably advertise Wüst, whom he proposed two weeks ago as his successor.
At around 1 p.m. Wüst held his application speech.
A vote will take place shortly afterwards.
It remains to be seen how much approval the party will receive from the desert, which is not popular with everyone.
In 2010, Wüst had to resign as Secretary General of the state CDU because of an affair involving bookable sponsor appointments with the then Prime Minister Jürgen Rüttgers.
Seven years later he made his comeback as Minister of Transport, but has remained in the background ever since.
In the past few weeks, Wüst held back noticeably.
Eagerly awaited: Speech by the chairman of the CDU parliamentary group
A total of 13 agenda items are planned for Saturday (October 23).
In addition to the state board, the delegates to the federal party congress are also elected.
The chairman of the CDU parliamentary group Ralph Brinkhaus will also speak at the party conference.
His speech is eagerly awaited by many.
Brinkhaus is said to have ambitions for the CDU federal chairmanship.
At the party congress, 677 delegates vote on the new state executive.
There are no opponents to Wüst, who depends on a good result.
Because just four days after the election, he is to be elected Prime Minister in a special session of the state parliament.
There the CDU and FDP only have a very narrow majority with 100 out of 199 votes.
Wüst therefore needs the support of all 100 people.
Party congress in NRW: CDU changes its top staff
First report from October 22nd, 9:00 p.m .:
Munich - turning point in North Rhine-Westphalia: In the current electoral period, the largest ruling party is changing its top staff. Armin Laschet resigns as Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia. "It's like in private life: when a section ends, there is also melancholy associated with it," said the CDU chairman on Friday at the end of the Prime Minister's Conference (MPK). “I really enjoyed being prime minister,” he added. Most recently, he was re-elected for the third time in 2018 with 96.3 percent of the valid delegate votes and thus his best result.
In the federal election *, the union with Laschet had a historically bad result.
The 60-year-old had previously determined that he would see his place in Berlin even in the event of an election defeat.
Transport Minister Hendrik Wüst, who is 14 years his junior, should follow him.
At a CDU state party conference on Saturday (October 23) in Bielefeld, the delegates are to elect him as head of the NRW CDU.
Probably on October 27th, the election of the new prime minister is due in the state parliament, which he can decide for himself with a narrow majority of the CDU and FDP.
Designated CDU boss and Prime Minister Wüst: "The new beginning begins in dealing with one another"
The designated CDU boss and Prime Minister Wüst already commented on his plans on Friday. After the CDU's worst ever Bundestag election result, he wanted to put cooperation in the Union on a new footing. “I think that in future the CDU and CSU should meet with their board members at least once a year. In addition to the joint parliamentary group, we need another bracket in order to get back together with the sister party, ”Wüst told the
WAZ
.
The CDU * and CSU were "always a strong connection" despite public disputes between Armin Laschet * and CSU boss Markus Söder. They would have to work on their relationship now, he demanded. “The new beginning begins with dealing with each other,” emphasized Wüst. "It hurt many party members in the soul to see how unsanitary some in the leadership of the Union have recently worked against each other."
In addition to a quick clarification of Laschet's successor in the CDU federal chairmanship, the designated NRW Prime Minister called for substantive improvements: “At the federal level, the CDU must again work more programmatically and give clearer Christian democratic answers to the questions of the time.” Wüst complained, “That During Angela Merkel's long term as chancellor, the CDU defined too much solely through government action ”.
The party must stay alive alongside the government and be open to people's everyday concerns.
CDU party congress: Several board changes are on the way
Apart from Hendrik Wüst, the NRW-CDU is facing a major change in personnel.
Several changes in the board of directors are looming, as
reported by
Neue Westfälische
.
NRW Health Minister Karl Josef Laumann will not run again for the office of Vice Head of State.
56-year-old Sabine Verheyen is to follow him.
North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul wants to move up into the ranks of the deputies.
He wants to apply for the position of deputy state chairman at the state party conference.
The Paderborn member of the state parliament Daniel Sieveke is to succeed Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus.
After the CDU party congress, Armin Laschet wants to submit his resignation as prime minister to the state parliament president André Kuper according to dpa information on Monday morning (October 25).
Bild.de
had previously
reported on it. Laschet and Kuper must record and sign the withdrawal request. Then the outgoing Prime Minister should receive his certificate of discharge. The other cabinet members, who were also dismissed with their head of government - in accordance with the legal requirements - remain in office. The new Prime Minister appoints his own cabinet after his election.
Laschet also remains in office until he finally becomes a member of the Bundestag on Tuesday.
At this moment, according to the state constitution, he can no longer be prime minister.
His deputy, Family Minister Joachim Stamp (FDP), takes over.
However, this will only lead the government for one day.
After all, according to the current planning, Transport Minister Wüst will then be elected as the new Prime Minister.
(mbr / dpa) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
