Monday 22 November 2021
Timetable until the party congress
This is how the CDU wants to find its new boss
It is a first for the CDU: its 400,000 members can vote on the successor to the hapless party leader Armin Laschet. With Helge Braun, Friedrich Merz and Norbert Röttgen there are three applicants. Here is the timetable for the personnel realignment after the debacle in the federal elections:
Introductory phase
On Monday, the CDU started the official presentation of the candidates, which will run until December 2nd. The party headquarters are organizing rounds of introductions with the individual applicants this week:
- Monday, 6 p.m .: Friedrich Merz
- Wednesday, 7.30 p.m .: Norbert Röttgen
- Thursday, 6.30 p.m .: Helge Braun
On December 1st at 6 p.m. there will be a so-called town hall event, at which all three candidates will answer questions from the CDU members.
Member survey
From December 4th to 16th, the members will be asked. You can vote for a candidate online using a pin procedure or using a conventional postal vote. In both cases, the procedure must be requested expressly.
When voting online, members must have registered by December 2nd via an internet link. In the case of postal voting, the reply by post must have been received by the CDU federal office by 3 p.m. on November 26th.
On Monday, however, the party executive changed the procedure somewhat. Anyone who does not respond will now automatically receive postal voting documents. “We don’t leave anyone behind,” said General Secretary Paul Ziemiak.
The background was evidently fears that older members might not have understood the invitation to register for the postal vote and would then not be allowed to take part in the vote. This could have been beneficial to Röttgen because it appeals to younger, more experienced online supporters.
Result and possible runoff
The result will be counted and announced on December 17th. If a candidate has an absolute majority, that is the proposal for the federal party congress. Otherwise there will be a runoff between the two best placed from the end of December to January 12th. The result of the vote will be announced on January 14th.
The party statutes do not provide for a binding election of the boss by the grassroots. Therefore, the winner of the member survey must be formally elected to office by the delegates of the federal party congress. According to previous plans, the party congress is to take place on January 21 and 22 in Hanover. Because of the Corona situation, it could now also be held digitally. The CDU wants to decide on this in the next few days.
According to the statute of the party, candidates who did not take part in the membership survey could also stand at the party congress. From a legal point of view, the party congress participants would also not be bound by the membership vote. Politically, however, choosing another candidate would be an affront to the grassroots level, which the party would probably face an acid test.