After less than an hour, the tension has evaporated in the large hall darkened by pitch-black curtains. There is Hendrik Wüst, the party and government leader of North Rhine-Westphalia, up on the stage. The loud, long applause was not directed at him, but at the guest of honor at the CDU party conference, Israel’s ambassador Ron Prosor. But Wüst uses the moment for a gesture. With the fingers of one hand he waves Friedrich Merz over. Wüst, the newcomer, lures Merz, the CDU leader, into the light for a photo opportunity: The Westphalian wants to prove unity – and finally smother the annoying rumors from the summer that he wants to challenge the Sauerland’s candidacy for chancellor.
On Saturday at a quarter past twelve, two people stage their peace – and applaud a third who has just reported on the war. The speech by Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor right at the beginning of the CDU state party conference will remain the highlight of the event in the middle of an industrial area in Hürth near Cologne, where everything runs strictly according to script.
Friedrich Merz also brushes aside all doubts that he fears “dear Hendrik” as a competitor: “We took a small turn in June,” the CDU federal chairman reminds us of the public upheavals in the summer, but: “We did discussed, the issue is settled.” We have been working together again “closely, amicably and without any contradiction” for a long time now. Another two hours later, Wüst was re-elected as CDU state leader – with 96 percent of the vote. Merz is gone again.
Staged harmony
Only Ron Prosor really upset the 650 CDU delegates that day. As an introduction, host Wüst once again invoked Israel’s security and right to exist as a “reason of state”: “Never again is now – no ifs or buts!” And the ambassador then spells out what that means.
Hamas, says Prosor, has long been “worse than the Islamic State” as a terrorist organization. And he demands more German solidarity than the traffic light government was prepared to demonstrate this week. He is outraged by Germany’s abstention this week on a pro-Palestinian resolution in the UN. Berlin’s diplomatic reticence, “because one cannot directly say that Hamas is responsible for this cruel massacre, is not enough.” Germany’s support is needed in the UN, said Prosor, who would have liked the federal government to clearly reject the resolution, which was passed on Friday at the general assembly of 120 states. 14 member states voted against it, Germany is one of the 45 states that abstained.
Prosor received significantly more applause in Hürth than the party gladiators Wüst or Merz would later receive. Also when he warns against the “know-it-alls” who would “trivialize” Hamas’ ideology or point fingers at Israel. Prosor also includes “those who forgot to condemn Mahmoud Abbas’ anti-Semitic statements.” Prosor continued: “Now they appear again. And they have the nerve to give us advice.” That was “an outrage.”
Prosor doesn’t mention any names. But the allusion can certainly be interpreted as criticism of the German Chancellor. After all, Olaf Scholz was the very first person who could be accused of this omission. Because Prosor was referring to a moment on the evening of September 16th last year: Scholz was standing in Berlin right next to Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, when, towards the end of a press conference, he accused Israel of a “holocaust” against the Palestinians: “Israel has had it since 1947 To date, 50 massacres have been committed in 50 Palestinian locations.” Scholz seemed visibly annoyed – but he remained silent. Only later did the Chancellor let Picture know: “Especially for us Germans, any relativization of the Holocaust is intolerable and unacceptable.”
Warning about “Berlin conditions”
Prosor’s warnings against sympathizing with the Palestinians met with greater response from the audience in Hürth: “We all have to wake up from our naivety.” Germany should not tolerate pro-Palestinian demonstrators chanting the slogan “from the river to the sea” on its streets, which means the destruction of Israel. Otherwise there is a risk of “wildfires,” the ambassador says to the dead quiet hall, “otherwise terror will come here.” The Federal Republic must act “so that Neukölln does not become Gaza.” At the end, the delegates stand up in front of Prosor and applaud for minutes.
The warning about “Berlin conditions” is currently popular in the CDU. It was only in September that party leader Merz shouted in a Bavarian beer tent: “Kreuzberg is not Germany!” And Merz and Wüst talked a lot on Saturday about the federal government’s failures – in curbing immigration, reducing bureaucracy, preserving prosperity and growth. That too – pointing the finger at the traffic light – is part of the truce of Hürth for both of them.