The CDU members can cast their vote for a candidate for the CDU party chairmanship for another week. In an interview with ntv.de, Friedrich Merz talks about how he wants to lead the party in the future and why the opposition will sometimes still be “difficult” for the CDU.
ntv.de: The new federal government is sworn in, you saw it this week in the Bundestag. What is your predominant feeling: disappointment that the CDU is no longer there after 16 years? Or the joy that you have come closer to politics by returning to the Bundestag?
Friedrich Merz: This feeling “I’m back” has already faded a little for me. The swearing-in of the new government on Wednesday was, on the one hand, a kind of déjà-vu, because I still remember 1998 and therefore know how long opposition can last. On the other hand, you sometimes take a step back and say to yourself that we live in a country with an orderly change of power that is not being questioned. That is no longer a matter of course and therefore a reassuring feeling.
Do you feel the change that a completely different time is beginning now?
Every change of government triggers something, of course. However: This government is in the middle of a crisis, and Corona will not be the only one. Crisis will possibly be more, sometimes less of a permanent condition in the next few years.
Can the CDU still oppose at all? With the first steps of the traffic light – keyword Infection Protection Act – the party gave the impression that they were sitting in the stands.
Of course, with a result of 24.1 percent in the federal election, we were hit pretty hard. What that means, what happened on September 26th, has so far been more of a theoretical variable for us. Now it has become practical, now you can see that something very fundamental has changed up front. Of course, the Union can opposition. But getting used to the fact that we have to do this every day now, and that this also includes a certain tolerance for frustration, will be difficult for us one day or the other.
With the general compulsory vaccination, a decision will soon be made by the Bundestag, for which the parliamentary group obligation is to be lifted. How are you going to vote?
First of all: there is no such thing as a “group obligation” in this Parliament. There is a need for political groups to vote together. But as the chairman of the group, I have resisted the notion of being compulsory for groups. According to our constitution, members of parliament are solely responsible to their conscience. And at the same time, not every decision by the Bundestag is a decision of conscience. I am not yet sure whether a general vaccination requirement is really a decision of conscience for me. For me this has so far been more of a question of practicability and enforceability. I would like to have a few specific answers from the new federal government, as it actually envisions it. As a matter of principle, I will not endorse any law that raises doubts about its enforceability from the start.
Enforceability is one thing, but from your point of view is a general compulsory vaccination necessary?
The way to the goal of a higher vaccination quota means first of all to consistently enforce 2G. This will likely lead to the same or at least a similar result as a general vaccination requirement. And then, while maintaining the principle of proportionality, I am more on the side of those who say that the milder means are also sufficient to achieve the same end. But these are my considerations. First of all, it is now up to the government to give a conclusive answer, including execution.
First of all, the government has put quite a stake in its Christmas vaccination goal. Is it risky?
30 million vaccinations by Christmas, that is an ambitious promise made by Olaf Scholz. Christmas is in two weeks! I hope that the Federal Chancellor does not disappoint the people in Germany with overly ambitious promises right from the start of his term of office.
You said that crisis is the new permanent condition. Looking at Ukraine is also a cause for concern. Russia is marching there on the border. Should the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline go into operation despite these alarming signals?
Here, too, the government is first of all responsible and has to provide answers to a whole range of questions. That doesn’t mean we elude the answer. I’ve always been skeptical about this pipeline; it should actually have been a European project. That attempt has never been seriously attempted, and now the new government must decide. We may see a growing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. How is the new government responding to this? I see China as another major conflict in foreign policy. Last week, the Chancellor apparently already signaled to the Chinese leadership that nothing would change in Germany’s China policy. The Foreign Minister apparently disagrees. These will be exciting questions that are on the table of the federal government.
However, the CDU recently had to put up with criticism that it lacks a clear stance. Shouldn’t you offer potential voters a clear position?
Yes it is. But these answers also want to be worked out anew in the opposition.
Is that the new, more cautious Friedrich Merz?
No, that’s Friedrich Merz, who now wants to lead a party. And who, of course, must first discuss and work out certain answers in the party. I will not make preliminary determinations ex cathedra on sensitive political issues on which I know of different opinions in my party.
Keyword party leadership, the applicant videos are online, Mr. Braun, Mr. Röttgen and you introduce yourself. Your video got the most clicks. Is that a currency that will make you sure of victory?
I am confident that it will work this time. I was always aware that I probably had greater approval among the CDU members than among the delegates. It was very close twice. According to the polls, it could be a tight spot this time, but in the other direction. So I am confident that I will win the majority of the CDU members.
Do you have something wrong with before December 17th – the day of the decision? Because it’s the third attempt and you know the feeling of defeat?
No, fear is not a category for me.
As Deputy General Secretary, you have brought Christina Stumpp to your team. However, this position does not yet exist in the CDU. For the implementation, the statutes must be changed at a face-to-face party convention, the next one will take place digitally. So you basically don’t have a woman on your team?
Christina Stumpp is of course an integral part of the team. We will find an interim solution. I will commission her if I am elected, and she will perform tasks without having the title formally. We will do that as soon as possible at the next presence party conference.
Assuming the next CDU chairman is Friedrich Merz, do you have some kind of “action plan” for dealing with Markus Söder, the greatest challenge in the Union?
The biggest challenge for me is to bring the CDU up to date politically, in terms of content, intellectually and structurally. Markus Söder is chairman of the CSU and in turn has to pass the state elections in Bavaria in 2023. This is a great challenge for all of us, for him personally the greatest. A good cooperation between the CDU and CSU can help a lot.
State elections are a good keyword. In the coming year there will be elections in four federal states. The election in the largest federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia is particularly important for the CDU. Assuming that Hendrik Wüst wins the election for the CDU, is he automatically the favorite for the candidacy for chancellor in four years?
I would be very happy if Hendrik Wüst could do it and I also think that it is possible. He is already part of the Union’s leadership team. He will make a name for himself in the state election campaign and then certainly play a leading role in the CDU over the next few years. We will think about who will be the candidate for chancellor for the Union in 2025, but certainly not a few days after the change of government here in Berlin.
If the candidate for chancellor were part of the party presidency package, would that reduce your personal chances?
That is a purely theoretical consideration. We are now talking about the next two years, and this question will not be on the agenda in those years.
Franca Lehfeldt and Frauke Niemeyer spoke to Friedrich Merz