[ad_1]
ORThe dispute that has now erupted in the CDU is definitely not about one thing: it is not a power struggle for leadership, as Friedrich Merz claims. The statements of the three candidates for the party’s presidency have not so far been such that it would have to be assumed that the CDU’s steering wheel would break with this or that president. None of the three candidates opposes a coalition with the Greens, that says it all. Merz has so far only been able to give the appearance of a change of direction because she entered the race as an anti-Merkel. Meanwhile, given the Corona crisis, this argument no longer worked as well as it used to.
Apparently that’s all it has to offer. Merz is right on one point: a digital party congress on December 4 would theoretically be possible, followed by the election of the board by letter. This is a time-consuming process due to the second round of the elections. But even if the party had embarked on this technical adventure: how does Merz know that he would have had better grades than Armin Laschet? Your toughest opponent can take advantage of the postponement; but are they really so heavy that Merz would lose the majority in a few weeks, who he thought was on his side?
Depends on regional associations
Rather than accept the decision of the presidium and the board, Merz chose a different path. He discovered his deep grief against Merkel and turned the postponement of the party congress into an intrigue she had hatched against his second attempt to become his successor. It is not enough with that. He undermined the authority of the party leadership with the undisguised appeal to the “bases” to ensure, through a membership decision, that he finally gets where he belongs.
All of this is a dubious mix of victimhood, populism, narcissism, foam, and conspiracy. There are enough statesmen of this type in the world. Does the CDU need, does Germany need someone like that at the top? Merz made the election of the CDU president a question: what kind of party leader and chancellor candidate do we want? The question has much more than the content, what it takes to divide a party, paralyze it, even drive it to the abyss.
It now depends a lot on regional associations whether or not they will respond to the Merz attack. One of these associations, that of Baden-Württemberg, plays a special role in this. Also, but not just because he feels sympathy for Merz. He has had relevant experience with what it is like when a party collapses over the question of its leadership. By the way, it was the “strongman” and “conservative” Mappus who caused this mess, and a membership decision that later put the ax to the influence of the party. On a small scale, what happened in the Southwest is what the CDU now threatens on a large scale with far more dramatic consequences.
Every morning our editors rank the most important topics of the day. Relevant, current and entertaining.
It can hardly be assumed that the CDU will emerge from this confrontation without major injuries. If Merz finds the support of the regional associations, the party enters the election year like a plucked chicken. If you can’t find it, Merz has failed. It is not Merkel or the “establishment” who is guilty of this, but he alone. Merz couldn’t have provided a better template for Laschet, or whoever he is.
