Saturday April 10th 2021
Don’t leave it until Pentecost
Brinkhaus wants the K question to be resolved quickly
It is still unclear who will lead the Union as candidate for chancellor in the upcoming federal election. Group leader Brinkhaus is pushing for a decision in the next two weeks. Several CDU MPs are also calling for a quick clarification.
Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus pleads for a quick clarification of the chancellor candidate question. “In my opinion, the decision as to who will run for the Union as candidate for chancellor should be made in the next two weeks,” said the CDU politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group. There should be “no hanging game until Pentecost”.
The chairmen of the CDU and CSU, Armin Laschet and Markus Söder, want to decide by Pentecost who will stand as candidate for chancellor in the federal election in September. There is no exact date for the decision. Both have not yet officially registered their candidacy. Söder has long been ahead of Laschet in popularity polls. Brinkhaus warned against overrating surveys.
Christian Baldauf, chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in Rhineland-Palatinate, is also pushing for an early decision. Soon the “Bild” said: “No more maneuvering. This is at the expense of the Union. We have to get out of the waiting room, so the decision should be made promptly.” Both potential candidates would now have to find an amicable solution. “To do this, Markus Söder first has to say clearly – does he want or does he not?” The impatience of many party members is palpable.
A large group of CDU members in the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag demanded a say in the decision on the candidate for chancellor on Friday. According to information from the German Press Agency, around 50 MPs had joined a statement that said: “As members of a self-confident CDU / CSU parliamentary group, we expect that before a definition of this scope is announced, a cross-party parliamentary group meeting of the CDU will take place and CSU discussed it and, if in doubt, a decision will be made there too. The call contradicts the previous plans of the party leaders.
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