Friedrich Merz (r.) And Carsten Linnemann push the party leadership.
Berlin If North Rhine-Westphalian members of the Bundestag of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) have to work on All Saints’ Day, then at least in the conference center of an archbishopric. In the Kardinal-Schulte-Haus in Bergisch Gladbach, the regional group met on Monday, in which an inexorable power struggle has been going on for three years: the one for leadership in the CDU.
Friedrich Merz, Norbert Röttgen, Jens Spahn, Ralph Brinkhaus and Carsten Linnemann are the names of the protagonists who have to decide these days whether to apply alone or in a team for the office of party chairman.
Two of them, who were defeated by CDU leader Armin Laschet at a party congress at the beginning of the year, want to end the disaster: Friedrich Merz and Norbert Röttgen want to convince the party with teams and make it clear that they are about the big picture – and not about personal careers.
“It’s not about short-term leadership, but the will to make the party fit for the future,” says the MP and head of the local political association, Christian Haase, summarizing the expectations of the members. “Anyone who wants to become party leader now has to be able to formulate clear statements on the one hand, and take the entire party with them on the other. Our retreat offers space for constructive discussions on the fringes. “
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According to information from the Handelsblatt, Merz, 65, is planning a team with Linnemann, 44, head of the SME Union and parliamentary deputy. In addition to the post of party chairman and parliamentary group chairman, there is also that of general secretary. On top of that, that of the party index and the presidium.
Merz and Linnemann also want to present women. The team should represent the breadth of the party – and stand for new beginnings and the future. Merz and Linnemann are convinced economic politicians, as social politicians note.
We are talking about a version “Spahn light”
Above all, it still seems unclear which of the two will lead the party and who will lead the parliamentary group. Combining both offices in one hand seems unlikely – at least for tactical reasons: the 326 district and 27 district chairmen decided at the weekend in Berlin that the candidates for the party chairmanship had to face the grassroots.
In a member survey, in which a team also puts the parliamentary group leader for election, this would mean: The Brinkhaus elected by April would have to submit to the vote and give way. Merz was parliamentary group leader from 2000 to 2002.
Media reports that Merz wants to include Spahn in the team are considered to have been launched in a targeted manner. Merz – like many others in the party – does not trust the incumbent health minister and blames him for deliberately puncturing content from internal meetings to the public.
At most, there is talk of a “Spahn light” version: He would remain in the game as a party vice president and possibly become one of the vice chairmen of the parliamentary group. But Merkel ministers like Julia Klöckner and Anja Karliczek are already experiencing in the parliamentary group: There is a desire for new heads.
Actually, like Brinkhaus, Spahn would like to run for party chairman himself in order to secure their positions. But they are only given a chance if a delegate is elected. They would not dare to survey members.
This would not be binding. But every delegate at the following federal party congress should do well not to follow his own conscience this time, but that of his members.
Norbert Röttgen will also be a candidate
But there won’t be just one team to choose from. Röttgen will also run, which he left no doubt on Monday morning. For him it is beyond doubt that “the center of the party, including the chairman, must be in the middle,” said the 56-year-old on “Deutschlandfunk”. “I think that I am in the middle of the Christian Democratic Union, I would say: in the modern middle.” As it was said in the party, he is already looking for team players.
At the beginning of the year, Ellen Demuth was one of them. Röttgen is now looking for a replacement for the pale Rhineland-Palatinate woman. Röttgen may also propose a dual leadership, which so many women in the Union would like.
But there could be completely different candidates on the scene: “Perhaps we should also look at the countries,” said Christian Haase. “As with a good menu, it is not just the ingredients that count, but their clever combination.”
On this Tuesday, the federal executive board will decide by when and how the candidates must present themselves to the members. If there were a quick vote, the party congress could elect the third party leader within three years before Christmas.
Just in time for the planned start of the red-green-yellow federal government.
More: Project 2025 – The CDU dreams of teamwork