The previously expected duel for the CDU chairmanship could turn into a three-way battle. Allegedly, the acting minister of the Chancellery, Helge Braun, is now investigating whether he has enough support for a candidacy. He is said to have the support of the Hessian Prime Minister Volker Bouffier. It is certain that the board of directors of the state CDU will come together for a special meeting this Friday to discuss the CDU federal chairmanship.
If Braun should compete, he would probably have to prevail against ex-Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz and ex-Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen. The two have not yet officially declared their candidacy – but it is certain that they will apply. Jens Spahn, the acting Federal Minister of Health, confirmed on Wednesday what had already become apparent: At a meeting of the Union parliamentary group, he said that in his last weeks as minister he wanted to do everything he could to combat the pandemic and therefore not concern himself with the pandemic Apply for CDU chairmanship.
In addition, it would not be good for the necessary new beginning if members of the previous federal government took over the party leadership, said Spahn. This statement was also seen as a point against Helge Braun’s ambitions. Spahn’s announcement not to run was received with applause in the parliamentary group. However, the minister had not been given a realistic chance of chairing the CDU for a long time.
The Merz and Röttgen camps reacted calmly to the new development. In the Merz team it was said that Braun as the third interested party would bring unrest into the debate and make Merz’s efforts to find a team at the top of the CDU more difficult. A candidacy from Braun is likely to cost Röttgen a lot more votes than Merz – one is therefore still confident of victory.
In the Röttgen camp, it was pointed out that Braun, with his nature and political biography, was more of a government politician. In the opposition, however, the CDU will need a different type of leader. In addition, Braun is not always known to the CDU members – and the next chairman will de facto be decided in the upcoming member survey.
Braun hopes for an “exciting member survey”
Braun is a close confidante of Angela Merkel. He was initially Minister of State with the Federal Chancellor, and has been Minister of the Chancellery since 2018. He has long been considered a possible successor to Bouffier as Prime Minister, but he has not yet been traded as CDU chief. Last weekend, Braun had an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said he was hoping for an “exciting member survey” and therefore for a field of candidates with “real alternatives”.
Merz was pushed out of the chairmanship of the Union parliamentary group by Merkel in 2002, and Röttgen kicked her out of her cabinet in 2012. Braun, on the other hand, said in the interview, when asked whether he would miss the daily cooperation with Merkel: “I think I won’t have to miss her that much because I believe that we will continue to be in close contact.”
It is difficult to predict how great Braun’s chances would be in a member survey. Its Hessian regional association is only the fifth largest in the CDU. And Braun lost his Gießen constituency to a 30-year-old social democrat in September. However, there are also many members in the CDU who are not enthusiastic about Merz or Röttgen. So there is definitely potential for a third candidate.
In Röttgen’s camp one hopes for a “head decision”
Merz had already run in the last two elections for the CDU chairmanship, but both times just lost. At that time, however, there was no preceding member survey, the federal party congress made its decision completely autonomously. In the team of the ex-Union faction leader, one believes that Merz has the greatest support at the grassroots level – and that a candidacy from Braun will not change anything.
The Röttgen camp, on the other hand, is of the opinion that the enthusiasm for Merz is slowly waning at the grassroots level and that the vote on the CDU chairmanship is increasingly becoming a “head decision”. This would increase Röttgen’s chances, since he had a clearer idea of how a CDU could succeed as a party “of the modern center” in the future.
It is expected that Merz and Röttgen will declare their candidacies by the beginning of next week at the latest. Nothing should happen this Thursday: On the one hand, it’s Merz’s birthday, he will be 66 years old. On the other hand, the Bundestag comes together to discuss the new measures against the pandemic – a party-political appearance would be perceived as inappropriate.
There was also movement on Wednesday in the debate about the deputy party leaders. The Schleswig-Holstein Education Minister Karin Prien announced to the editorial network Germany that she wanted to run as CDU vice-president.