Thursday, December 16, 2021
Warning towards Brinkhaus
Merz also wants to lead the Union faction
The 400,000 CDU members are currently voting on who should become the new CDU leader. The result should be available on Friday. Friedrich Merz is applying for the office for the third time. In the event of a victory, indicates that one would then have to talk about another office.
The candidate for the CDU chairmanship, Friedrich Merz, is of the opinion that the party chairman of the CDU should in principle also lead the parliamentary group. “The fact that the chairmanship of the CDU and the leadership of the Union parliamentary group should be in one hand is a principle that applies,” said Merz to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
At the same time, Merz did not want to commit himself whether the current group leader Ralph Brinkhaus would have to look for a new job if he was elected party leader. Merz told the Funke newspapers literally: “I’m really not thinking about this topic at the moment. This question is currently not on the agenda.” With reference to a violent dispute between Brinkhaus and him after the federal election in the Union parliamentary group, Merz said: “The fact that an orange juice bottle fell on the table does not change our mutual trust.”
The approximately 400,000 CDU members can vote by postal vote or online until December 16 to decide who will succeed Armin Laschet at the top of the party. The result should be available on Friday. In addition to Merz, the former Chancellery Minister Helge Braun and foreign policy specialist Norbert Röttgen are also applying for the CDU chairmanship.
“No preliminary decision on candidates for chancellor”
Merz also expressed skepticism about letting the party base vote on the Union’s next candidate for chancellor. “A membership decision on such personnel issues will probably remain the exception,” he told the papers on. “For the candidacy for chancellor we should find a decision-making mechanism or perhaps an institution from the CDU and CSU in addition to the parliamentary group.” In any case, the presidia of the CDU and CSU would have to work more closely together.
When asked whether the election of the new CDU boss was a preliminary decision about the candidate for chancellor, the former parliamentary group leader answered with a clear no. “That also requires respect for the CSU,” he said. “Because the CDU does not decide on this question alone, and we will not decide it in the next two years either.”
Merz made it clear that his third candidacy for the CDU chairmanship was “definitely” the last. He was confident of success. A high voter turnout of well over 50 percent is “a good sign”. He does not expect the decision to be made in the first round of voting. “With three applicants, that’s unlikely,” he said. “But it is not impossible either.”