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After Corona 2020, after New Year’s Eve, the super election year with ten state elections and the federal election in September. For CSU chief Markus Söder, the smooth transition carries dangers for the Union. He advocates that the Union only elect its chancellor candidate after the Corona crisis.
Politics should focus on fighting the crown
He was skeptical about an early start before state elections in March, the CSU chief told the German Press Agency (dpa). State elections will be held in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate on March 14. “For the people it is not important at the moment whether there will be a decision on the chancellor candidacy in January,” Söder said. Policy should now focus on fighting the pandemic.
“In my opinion, it would be wrong in the middle of the pandemic. Only after it has subsided, or in spring, when the earth is in sight again, does it make sense to make this personal decision.” Markus Söder, CSU Party Leader
Also for reasons of electoral strategy, the CDU and the CSU must be patient on this issue, explains Söder: “I think it is not about making the quickest decision, but the best one. And you have to think carefully: who, with what program and what strategy can be more successful? “
Söder referred to the bad experiences that the SPD, for example, had had in the past with the premature selection of candidates for chancellor. Furthermore, the Greens, presumably the main opponent of the Union, would try to “avoid this issue for as long as possible. That is why the Union should consider wisely when the time is right.”
Indirect support from Armin Laschet?
The starting position has not changed in recent months, so Söder. “The CDU has the natural right to propose. But decisions are only made jointly by the CDU and the CSU.” Söder is ahead in the polls on this issue, but has never stated that he also has ambitions for the job. In an interview in the newspaper “Tagesspiegel”, Armin Laschet, one of the candidates for the presidency of the CDU, indirectly stated that the party leader does not have to automatically become the candidate for chancellor of the Union.
Armin Laschet did not aggressively claim the CDU chancellor candidate, should he prevail against Norbert Röttgen and Friedrich Merz and become the new president: “As the largest partner, the CDU should at least have the right to occupy the chancery “Laschet said simply. In the past, he had emphasized that the successes of Konrad Adenauer, Helmut Kohl and Angela Merkel were also due to the connection between the Chancellor and the CDU party leadership and that Söder had emphasized that their place was in Bavaria.
Bouffier wants a quick decision
CDU Federal Vice President Volker Bouffier is picking up the pace when it comes to choosing candidates. The decision on the chancellor candidate can only be made in conjunction with the CDU and CSU, said the Hessian prime minister of the dpa. Therefore, the new federal president of the CDU must quickly find a way to meet with the head of the CSU, Söder. “And then I’ll stick with my attitude: it would be very important that this doesn’t take too long.”
From Söder’s point of view, the CDU should also wait and see, the sister party would first elect the new party leader in January: “After this decision, the CDU will need a few weeks to regroup and rally behind the new party leader One thing should not be ignored: the candidates also advocate different emphases and different Union coalition options. “
