Debate in the Union: “We lost the election. Period”

After the cracking election defeat, Armin Laschet is counted – also in his own party. Before the constituent meeting of the Union parliamentary group, the criticism grows, the calls for a new beginning are louder.

The losses in the federal election were historic, but Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet is willing to govern. But within the CDU, resistance to Laschet’s course is growing. “We should now humbly and respectfully accept the will of the voters, with decency and attitude. Change was wanted,” said Lower Saxony’s CDU boss Bernd Althusmann.

The Union has “no claim to government responsibility”, underlined Hesse’s Prime Minister Volker Bouffier. Young Union boss Tilman Kuban said: “We lost the election. Period.” The clear mandate lies with the SPD, Greens and FDP.

The Union is seething

The outgoing state chairman of the CDU in Rhineland-Palatinate, Julia Klöckner, on the other hand, believes that the CDU could participate in an upcoming federal government. The Union must find itself again after 16 years with Angela Merkel as Chancellor, she said in the SWR, “But you can also renew yourself in government.”

Obviously it is not the turn of the CDU because it is not ahead of the game, “but we are very clearly ready to talk. You can’t duck down and say: Now we’re only doing self-therapy and self-employment. That would be, I think, Not worthy of such a strong and experienced party as the CDU. “

The Union is seething, and there are occasional calls for Laschet to withdraw. Today the new parliamentary groups of the SPD, Union, Greens and Left come together for their first consultations. The first course could already be set at the constituent meeting of the strongly shrunk Union parliamentary group.

Dispute over the election of the parliamentary group leader

Also on the agenda is the election of the parliamentary group leader, which could cause political explosions. Laschet announced on Monday that he wanted to propose together with CSU leader Markus Söder that the previous chairman Ralph Brinkhaus should remain parliamentary group leader “in the phase of these coalition negotiations”. This caused resentment at Brinkhaus, who, as usual, wanted to be elected for a year. In this case, members of the CDU leadership fear fighting candidates for the post. Background: If Laschet fails to form a Jamaica coalition and the Union ends up in the opposition, the post of group leader would be one of the most powerful in the Union.

CDU presidium member Norbert Röttgen pleaded for the faction leadership to be determined later. The election result must first be discussed before personnel and power policy stakes are immediately taken, he said in the ARD. “Firstly, we do not have a consensus on this matter, and secondly, we do not know whether we will elect the opposition leader or the chairman of the largest parliamentary group in the government. These are very different political tasks.”

Hamburg’s CDU boss Christoph Ploß also struck in the same direction. The question of who will become chairman of the parliamentary group can only be finally answered when it is clear whether one will lead the opposition or rule in a Jamaica coalition, said Ploß im ARD morning magazine.

The CDU in “existential danger”

Both Ploß and Röttgen also called for an all-round renewal of the party. “It needs a staff renewal. We have a lot of good younger people who now also belong in the front row,” said Ploß.

Röttgen told the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” that the “entire breadth of the party must understand that this is now pending”, that the CDU is in “existential danger” of losing its status as a people’s party. However, Röttgen advised against immediate personnel changes: “We cannot set our own internal competition in motion parallel to negotiations on a government. That would not be compatible with one another.” Looking at Laschet, he said that he was the elected party leader and the common candidate for chancellor. “These decisions are made until others are made.”

Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther also warned his party against a personnel debate at this point in time. This discussion must be held “when we know that a Jamaica alliance has no chance,” said Günther to the newspapers of the Funke media group. After such an election result, however, there should be no “business as usual”, stressed the Prime Minister. “If the talks fail, then we will talk exactly about these questions: About the personnel line-up of the party and the question of how things will go on now.”

Altmaier calls for personnel realignment

Economics Minister Peter Altmaier, on the other hand, called for his party to be quickly repositioned. He would have wished for a clear government mandate for the Union, says Altmaier of the “Rheinische Post”. “That is more difficult now. That is why we have to talk quickly about the content and personnel of the CDU for the future.” The Union has lost many swing voters. “That must then also determine our further behavior and our line-up for the coming period. We must hear the signal from the citizens.” Altmaier recommended a “portion of humility” to his party.

When asked about his support for CSU leader Markus Söder as candidate for chancellor, the minister replied: “I made my position clear at the time. Both in the federal executive board and with Armin Laschet exceeded reality. ”

Before the election, Laschet had declared that he was going to Berlin “without a return ticket” – even if he did not become Chancellor. It is expected that he will remain Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia until the constituent session of the Bundestag on October 26th. The state CDU wants to set the course for the successor by the end of next week.