The German chancellor took over the presidency of the Christian Democratic Union in 2000 and has been known to the world as a German chancellor since 2005.
The party was replaced by Merkel Angret Kramp-Karenbauer – referred to briefly as the AKK – but proved unfit to lead the CDU and announced her resignation last February. However, he will continue to serve as party leader because there was no chance of new elections due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But over the weekend, it will finally be decided who will take over the leadership of the CDU. Literally, a thousand and one delegate will vote in the digital replenishment to decide which of the three main candidates will lead – if that is the goal – in crushing Merkel. On the road the party.
Ancient faces in antiquity
The Velvet Chief consists of a party chief of three members is expected There, they are all veteran politicians of North Rhine-Westphalia.
- Armin Laschet, the current prime minister of the region, is widely seen as a continuation of Merkel’s work, and it is believed that the chancellor would like to see her also in the leadership of the party. The Prime Minister stated earlier that he intends to make the Christian Democratic Union the most modern party in Europe, an attractive political bloc for women, youth and immigrants.
- Friedrich Merz has virtually no government experience and has clashed with Merkel several times. And it is no coincidence that Merz was a great competitor to Merkel in the struggle for leadership of the party, which ended in resigning in favor of the chancellor. He gradually retired from political life until 2018, when he resumed the presidency of his party. The politician, who represents the conservative wing of the party, is in stiff competition with the lost AKP, but now, with his old rivals gone, he seems to feel his time has come again.
- Norbert Röttgen currently chairs the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, which was once among Merkel’s patrons. From 2009 to 2012, he headed the Federal Ministry of the Environment and also served as Vice President of CDU, as well as President of the Regional CDU Organization. By this time, he was already mentioned as a possible successor to Merkel. However, his development career came to an abrupt halt in 2012 due to his candidacy for prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, which ended in a serious defeat not only for him but for his party in the district elections. Then Merkel decided it was better to be exposed than her government.
The future of the Christian Democratic Union is the future of Germany
In general, under Merkel’s leadership, the CDU succeeded in positioning itself at the center of the political spectrum, which contributed to the fact that 30-40 percent of the vote was actually guaranteed in the elections, and the Bundestag was able to work seamlessly with the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) . To judge. The crises of recent years, the immigration crisis, and the subsequent strengthening of the far-right in East Germany have alienated votes from the CDU. As a result, what became the futuristic trend became an increasingly popular topic within the party.
Merz is a believer in social and financial conservatism, while Röttgen and Laschet represent a continuation of CDU’s current policy. However, with the radical renewal, none of the candidates returned, and, moreover, none of them enjoyed great popularity among the Germans.
However, it is crucial that he take over the presidency of the CDU.
Traditionally, the leadership of the CDU party entails running for the position of chancellor, and with the end of Merkel’s term in September this year, the new party leader can run for office.
It really is the end of an era
There is a good chance that in the general election in September, the leader of his son-in-law from the Christian Democratic Union, CSU, Bavarian Prime Minister Marcus Söder, who is much more popular than the Lachit-Merz-Rutgen trio. Was launched To the chancellor’s office.
However, the coronavirus epidemic has become Germany’s second most popular politician Developed Health Secretary Jens Spahn of CDU, who was in charge of launching the vaccination campaign, so he will also have a good chance of running for the position.
That is why it is not at all unreasonable for a CDU / CSU to find a candidate for the position of advisor in the person of one of them.
The big question is whether the future leader of CDU will allow himself a candidate who is likely to become an advisor. Presumably Merz could not resist the temptation of the position of chancellor, Röttgen and Laschet may have already given the opportunity to Bavarian Söder.
What about SPAN? For now, it appears to be a promising exterior Spiegel He was interested in running for the position of chancellor. Spahn is behind Laschet for now, with his recent presidential party winning by making the Health Secretary CDU Vice President. The German newspaper wrote about whether Spahn, along with several of his party colleagues, would support his candidacy for the position of chancellor.
There is still a lot of water flowing across the Rhine until Saturday, but there are many indications that Spahn may eventually be the leader of the CDU in his re-election on Saturday, which would lay the groundwork for his candidacy for the chancellor.
(Cover photo: Frederick Mears, Armin Laschet and Norbert Röttgen as CDU presidential candidates January 8, 2021. Photo: Andreas Jura / MTI / EPA )
