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meIn the CDU presidential race, Friedrich Merz is the most popular among the rank and file, according to a poll. If party members could vote themselves, 45 percent would elect the former leader of the Bundestag parliamentary group, as shown by the RTL / ntv trend barometer, which was published on Saturday.
Twenty-four percent would vote for North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Armin Laschet and 13 percent for foreign politician Norbert Röttgen. However, according to the poll, the majority of the members (38 percent) trust Laschet to integrate the diverse currents of the party. For this task, Merz in the party believes that only 31 percent are the right man. Above all, East German Christian Democrats would vote for him, as would party members who classify themselves as right-wing politicians. Laschet is most popular in the NRW CDU, as well as among members of the more left wing.
The CDU wants to elect its new president at a federal party conference in early December. Due to the corona pandemic, the CDU is considering extending the party conference in various locations, with mutual connection via video. According to information from the German Press Agency, the model could be a corresponding plan for the state conference of the CDU party in Lower Saxony on 7 November.
Hans: Meeting of a thousand delegates “devastating sign”
With the current situation of corona infection, it cannot be transmitted that a thousand delegates traveled to a meeting in Baden-Württemberg, Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) told the “Rheinische Post” on Saturday. “This would be a devastating sign, also in view of the restrictions we impose on our citizens in everyday life due to the crown.” “If you want to lead the CDU in 2021, you have to get along with that format.” Legal certainty must be guaranteed. “That will cost something, but we have to pay for it.” The CDU should be a role model in the pandemic.
A postponement of the party congress until next year was not completely ruled out. However, the CDU also emphasized that the probability that the crown situation will normalize by next spring is low. Postponing the election until 2021 might not have won anything.
Federal Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) sees no time pressure when it comes to running for Chancellor of the Union. “There is no need to rush to nominate our candidate for chancellor,” he told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “We should focus on what takes priority in the coming months: health and economic recovery. The decision on the chancellor candidacy will come early enough in April or May. “
The decision on whether to hold a party conference “can only be based on one question: the pandemic in Germany,” Altmaier said. At the moment, the numbers are “too high,” he said. “Nowhere in the republic do more important events occur.”
