Berlin His attempt to save his own job could also seal the political fate of CDU leader Armin Laschet. That is the starting position in the Union this Tuesday. Ralph Brinkhaus, the previous head of the Union parliamentary group, would like to be able to lead the CDU and CSU MPs again in this electoral term. First of all, Laschet would like Brinkhaus to be provisionally elected.
The dispute over this question dominates the entire Tuesday in the Union – until a compromise is apparently found a few minutes before the start of the first parliamentary group meeting after the election. Accordingly, Brinkhaus should be officially elected. But only for six months. The party leaders Laschet and Markus Söder are said to have introduced the proposal. Above all, it could give Laschet a respite. No longer. And yet it could be decisive for the man who brought in a disastrous election result for the CDU.
Because the question about the modalities of the parliamentary group chairman election is only superficial this Tuesday. In reality, there have long been bigger questions in the room: Does Armin Laschet have to bury all hopes for the Chancellery, for the party chairmanship, for any role in the party? Does the Laschet era end before it even begins? Or will the Union faction remain closed and thus trustworthy in order to lead coalition negotiations under certain circumstances, should there not be an alliance of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP?
If there were to be a candidate to fight for Brinkhaus’ post on Tuesday – in which other prominent Christian Democrats are reportedly interested – then chaos would be programmed in the parliamentary group, the Union would be considered divided, and her place on the opposition bench would be guaranteed. “Then everything starts to slide,” warned the CDU leadership.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Advertise Jamaica
“Ability to work, stability, a mandate” are important, said the newly elected CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt a few hours before the meeting. In Union circles it was said that there were “good talks with the FDP and the Greens, which signal interest in talks about Jamaica”. It was an appeal to the state political responsibility of the MPs.
“We are ready for talks,” said CSU boss Söder. “We have worked out a matrix for possible discussions.” The CSU has more weight in the parliamentary group than before, as it provides almost a quarter of the only 196 members of the Union.
According to the will of the party chairmen, the previous chairman of the Union parliamentary group should initially only remain in office on a provisional basis.
(Photo: dpa)
At that time it was already known that Jens Spahn and Norbert Röttgen would run for candidates and possibly also Friedrich Merz and parliamentary deputy Carsten Linnemann, should Brinkhaus continue to pursue his plan. Brinkhaus said: “It will be a compromise because we are now also very closed.” He was ready “for talks with the FDP and the Greens”. This week there should be more clarity about how things will proceed. At the beginning of the parliamentary group meeting there was “only one application” for the chairmanship, said Dobrindt.
It is “nonsense” to believe that the party renews itself better in the opposition than in the government, warned the critics of an uncontrollable parliamentary group meeting with combat votes. In addition to chaos and anger, personal injuries in particular would remain there: “Don’t destroy everything and let us remain a possible partner for a coalition.”
There are so great differences between the SPD and FDP, from the debt brake to the wealth tax or a rent cap, that a Jamaica alliance is likely to be seen as the better solution for the country.
The liberals in the party warned the conservatives to take a “pure CDU” course. For example, the former President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Hans-Georg Maaßen, was unable to achieve a majority in southern Thuringia. With his conservative course, the Hamburg regional chief Christoph Ploß has also lost all direct mandates in Hamburg.
The transition is going better in NRW
While Laschet had to fight for his position to the end on Tuesday, the transition in the state board of the NRW-CDU was quieter on Monday evening. There it was about Laschet’s successor as Prime Minister and State Chairman. It was said afterwards in Düsseldorf that there was “respectful interaction”.
The state executive unanimously voted for a quick solution and ultimately also for the head of the CDU trade association, Transport Minister Hendrik Wüst, as the successor, several participants reported to the Handelsblatt.
The party officially denied a specific personnel decision. After the weekend, Laschet will make a proposal. Laschet himself is in favor of a quick clarification of the successor so that the new Prime Minister can successfully win the state elections in May 2022 with an official bonus.
In Dusseldorf, with a view to the meeting of the Bundestag faction in Berlin and the prospect of Jamaica negotiations, it was said: “If we get through the evening without an accident, then it goes on.” And there was also a reference to Bremen: There the SPD had Historically poor in the last state election, the CDU won.
And yet since then the SPD has been in government with the Left and the Greens. The prospect of the chancellorship of a black-yellow-green alliance is the last chance for Laschet to rebuild the necessary authority in the party and parliamentary group.
More: “Middle-class spectrum that feels addressed by him” – Why Habeck is back in the front row