In the TV elephant round, Armin Laschet tries to be everything on Sunday evening after the election, just not a good loser. As a candidate for Chancellor, he has led the Union into a historic defeat. His party lost almost nine percent. Even worse: it ended up behind the SPD.
Angela Merkel’s legacy is gambled away. The proud and powerful CDU / CSU, to which nothing could be dangerous in the past – not even secret black money accounts in Switzerland – is falling apart. People’s Party … even this seemingly eternal status may soon be lost.
The claim still exists
But he’s still there. And instead of stepping back, he still lays claim to the throne. It sounded like this on TV on Sunday evening: “We don’t even have all the results.” Or, not exactly confident: “Let’s think about success and not about failure.”
However, not much has remained of the Rhinelander’s cheerful disposition. On good days, Laschet could not deny a resemblance to the “Asterix” figure Feistus Raclettus, the eternally tipsy Roman governor in Helvetia. Now the smile is gone: the man is being humiliated. From friend, enemy and party friend, as the CDU superfather Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967) would have said.
At the beginning of the week, Wolfgang Schäuble also turned away from Laschet. The powerful CDU puller, Merkel’s shadow man, current President of the Bundestag and former Laschet sponsor, confessed to “Spiegel” that he felt “in the wrong film” on election Sunday. Schäuble meant the moment when the loser claimed in all seriousness that the voters had given him the mandate to rule.
The CDU is now counting mercilessly. Alliances, alliances, friendships are a thing of the past, the rule is: everyone against everyone. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer describes the situation as an “earthquake”.
Other experts also have their say. Journalist question from editorial network Germany: “Does Armin Laschet suffer from a loss of reality?” Answer from a psychologist: «His behavior is absolutely rational. If he had time, the self-doubts would come. But he has no time. “
But whatever is rumored: Nobody chases the failed from the court. Not yet. The hands of his internal party opponents are tied, because Laschet still has a trump card up his sleeve. And it’s called «Jamaica».
What has to do with the fact that in future three instead of two parties will rule in Berlin. Either red-yellow-green in a “traffic light coalition”, ie social democrats, liberals and greens. Or the alliance comes in the Jamaican look: in the black of the Union, the yellow of the FDP and in green.
Either way, nobody is happy with such color fantasies. All strangers. And that is how long Laschet can hope. That is how long the CDU has been held hostage.
The regicide
The party base had long dreamed of Markus Söder as savior, the Bavarian Prime Minister and head of the CSU. Now she can hope. On the evening of the election, Söder sat with the other party leaders in the elephant group, right next to Laschet. Söder, who has probably always considered himself the better chancellor, repeatedly praised Laschet, but always somehow nasty.
When asked about the candidate’s question, the man from Munich said patronizingly that it was “yesterday’s news”. He had “great respect” for Laschet – and smiled maliciously into the cameras.
Laschet’s facial expression seemed badly slipped when he looked at the person sitting next to him at that moment.
Days later, the “Watschn” from Munich followed. “Olaf Scholz has the best chances of becoming chancellor at the moment, clearly,” announced Söder surprisingly. Everyone must now consider what responsibility they bear for the election result. Hit! Such remarks are called “dirtiness” in Bavaria: throwing a little dirt.
Perhaps Söder is currently experiencing the best phase of his career. He, the man who would know what the country needs now. Or better: who the country needs now – namely him.
If the “traffic light” doesn’t come, Laschet would have to find the route to Jamaica. And for better or for worse, he would be dependent on the Bavarian father and his loyal followers in the cabinet. Söder does not say that out loud. But you can hear it.
The kingmakers
A selfie the day after the election says everything about the new balance of power up in the large canton. The kingmakers are depicted on it: FDP general secretary Volker Wissing and party leader Christian Lindner together with the Greens Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck.
The little ones are the bosses, without them there are neither traffic lights nor Jamaica. They look sovereign at their first preliminary talk about the formation of a government. Your message: We will elect the Chancellor.
“If you insert a screw at an angle, it will never straighten again. And this screw was inserted very straight in the first few days, ”said Robert Habeck on Friday in front of the media.
Only: which nut now fits the screw, SPD or CDU?
Habeck avoided the journalists’ questions that he didn’t need a mother.
Somehow very German, to talk about power and politics in a do-it-yourself way. But the news is getting through: the Greens and the FDP don’t need big parties to get into business.
The silent ruler
And the election winner? Just do nothing. Olaf Scholz doesn’t even cheer when the congratulatory telegrams come in. He led his SPD out of the valley to the top. If the Germans could elect their chancellor directly, according to a survey from September 28th to 30th, he would come to 76 percent, Laschet to 13 percent.
Of course one is happy about that. But the SPD candidate smiles modestly at best and shows his Hanseatic sobriety, which has been practiced to perfection. It was surprisingly quiet around Scholz this week. Although he won, the first conversations were held without him.
From a distance he sent his potential coalition partners (those on the selfie) a small, hopeful message. “Real affection arises when you get involved seriously,” said Scholz in “Spiegel”.
Nobody at the German court can ignore this silent ruler.