Status: 10.11.2021 6:18 p.m.
Who will succeed Laschet at the top of the CDU? Federal Health Minister Spahn takes himself from the list of possible candidates. For this, Chancellor Braun joins the names of possible candidates.
The application round for the new chairmanship of the CDU opened on Saturday – there have been no official applications yet, but the field of possible candidates is slowly moving.
One name that was traded even before the application period started was that of the meanwhile executive Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn. But apparently he has no ambitions for the post. To ARD information Spahn announced at the meeting of the Union faction in Berlin that he did not want to apply for the office of party leader.
According to the dpa news agency, Spahn justified his decision by wanting to act as minister “until the last minute” in order to concentrate fully on coping with the corona pandemic. “I’m Team Union,” emphasized Spahn. For this statement there was applause from the other meeting participants.
Spahn had already tried three years ago to make the leap to the top of the party – at that time, however, the current Federal Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer won the race. In February of last year, however, she resigned from the post. In the subsequent search for a new chairmanship, Spahn supported the eventual winner and later candidate for Chancellor Armin Laschet.
Braun as a possible candidate
While Spahn is no longer a potential successor to Laschet, a new name appears for the office of CDU chief: that of Chancellor Helge Braun. The Hessian CDU politician Michael Meister proposes him as the new federal chairman. “Helge Braun has a bright head with ideas for the future. He can formulate precise messages and penetrate complex issues,” said the parliamentary state secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education of the editorial network Germany (RND).
The dpa news agency also reports that there are corresponding explorations in the Hessian CDU. Accordingly, Braun should have the support of the Hessian CDU chairman Volker Bouffier. The support of a state or district association of the CDU is a prerequisite in order to be able to apply for the party chairmanship. Obviously, it is not yet clear whether Braun will actually run for office. However, there is support for Braun from all parts of the CDU.
A spokesman for the state CDU did not want to confirm the information. All he said was that a state board meeting on Friday would discuss the chairmanship of the CDU in Germany. The “Spiegel” also reported on the possible personell Braun and the meeting planned for Friday.
So far only NRW politicians are traded
After the Union’s debacle in the federal election, the CDU wants to reposition itself. Applicants for the party chairmanship can be nominated since Saturday. Nobody has officially declared their candidacy. So far, the North Rhine-Westphalian politicians Friedrich Merz, Norbert Röttgen, and Ralph Brinkhaus have been considered possible candidates.
In a number of regional associations, however, there is resentment that only politicians from North Rhine-Westphalia are traded. Braun comes from Hessen. The new party leader is to be elected on January 21 at a party congress in Hanover, the member survey is planned for December.
“Hope for a candidate field with real alternatives”
In the CDU, according to information from the dpa news agency and the magazine “Spiegel”, an interview in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” from the weekend was named as an indication of Braun’s interest in the party chairmanship. There Braun had said: “I hope for an exciting member survey for a candidate field with real alternatives.”
He also emphasized the importance of solidarity between the CDU and CSU: “If the Union is not closed, it cannot be successful. And when the CDU and CSU are at odds, the rift always goes through the CDU, because we have many friends too the CSU gives. ” When asked whether this was also possible with the CSU boss, Braun told the newspaper: “Of course, a close alliance with Markus Söder is possible.”