Berlin In the struggle for the chairmanship of the CDU, the applicants Helge Braun, Friedrich Merz and Norbert Röttgen will face the members one last time. On Wednesday evening, the federal party will be offering a digital “town hall” for this purpose.
After the Union had done worse than ever in the federal election, everything should be new, both in terms of personnel and content. For the first time, the approximately 400,000 members decide. You can vote from Saturday.
Merz are currently given the greatest chances, there could be a runoff election with Röttgen. The search for the chairman has already ensured that thousands of new people have joined the party, as General Secretary Paul Ziemiak recently said. In fact, district chairpersons also report that twice as many people enter than leave.
New leadership in the CDU and in the CDU / CSU parliamentary group
With the new chairman, the party will also have a new leadership team. On January 21, not only the chairman recommended by the grassroots will be formally confirmed at the party congress in Hanover. A new general secretary as well as members of the presidium and the entire federal board will be newly elected. In addition to the party leader, the regional associations in particular have the say.
And then there is the parliamentary group, the power center of an opposition party. Should Röttgen or Braun lead the CDU, then Ralph Brinkhaus can remain parliamentary group leader, as both have already explained. Merz, on the other hand, makes no secret of the fact that, for him, party and parliamentary group chairmanship belong in one hand in opposition times.
“Carpet dealers” advise about the few items
The regional group chairmen of the Union parliamentary group met on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the additional positions to be awarded. They are called “carpet dealers” in the parliamentary group. They distribute the positions among the CDU and CSU, men and women, young and old, and among the compatriots – all criteria in addition to professional qualifications. The scramble is great, as there are no more government posts.
There are only the eleven deputy group chairmen, four parliamentary directors and a legal advisor. In addition, there are the speakers of the working groups and the sociological groups.
As it was said internally, the CSU, for example, claims a deputy position more than before and justifies this with the fact that, relative to the CDU, it won more votes in the federal election. The CDU holds against it.
The incumbent ministers are also pushing: Anja Karliczek has raised her hand, as has Julia Klöckner. Jens Spahn would also like – after he no longer has a chance to become party chairman – to work on a topic: that for finance, as it was called. Antje Tilmann is currently responsible for this. But the CSU should also claim the job.
Too few posts for too many applicants
Then there are the many state secretaries. However, the young people are also pushing forward with reference to the renewal that has been announced on all sides. And the incumbents would like to keep their group posts.
Carsten Linnemann alone should give up his position if Merz wins: He should then work out a new basic program. Or Nadine Schön: she would have the job with Helge Braun. “There is a shortage everywhere,” reports one of the carpet dealers.
It is easier for the carpet dealers with the speakers. Since the Union has lost an enormous number of mandates, eight of the 18 posts alone have to be filled – including that of budget spokesman. Christian Haase, head of the local political association, has expressed an interest in this.
The regional group leaders can only clarify these questions when the SPD, Greens and FDP have sorted their government. Only then are the legislative committees set up as control organs of the executive.
For example, it is unclear whether there will continue to be one committee on economy and energy or at least two: one on economy and one on climate and energy.
The traffic light coalition must tailor the ministries
The same with the question of traffic and digital: Up until now there was a traffic committee, including digital infrastructure. But now there should be a Ministry for Transport and Digital. Will the committee then be renamed and the digital committee disbanded? Which topics will the designated FDP Minister Volker Wissing be responsible for? All unanswered questions. Only with the answers will the carpet dealers know how many speaker posts and committee chairs there are to be distributed.
The parliamentary group alone decides who will then become what: all proposals by the carpet dealers must be confirmed by the MPs in a parliamentary group meeting. “It will certainly be a wild group meeting with a number of fighting votes,” it says in the group.
And then there is one more question to be answered: Who will be the head of the carpet dealers? So far, the group has not been able to agree, in addition to Johann Wadephul from Schleswig-Holstein, Mathias Middelberg from Lower Saxony is also trying. For now, the parliamentary managing director Manfred Grund from Thuringia is coordinating the group.
On the other hand, one thing is already certain: the shrunken parliamentary group has to get by with far less money. Quite a few employees have already had to leave, officials are returning to the ministries. A prominent example is the office manager of the CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt: he is moving to the Ministry of Transport as head of the department for electromobility and charging infrastructure.
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