Friedrich Merz wins CDU party chairmanship – Röttgen in second place

Result of the member survey
Friedrich Merz wins the race for CDU chairmanship – Röttgen in second place

Former Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz is to become the new party chairman according to the will of the CDU members. General Secretary Paul Ziemiak announced on Friday in Berlin that Merz had received the necessary absolute majority of 62.1 percent in the member survey. The foreign politician Norbert Röttgen received 25.8 percent of the vote, the former head of the Chancellery Helge Braun 12.1 percent. Participation in the first member survey in the history of the CDU was 66.02 percent.

Friedrich Merz makes it on the third attempt

The 400,000 or so party members were able to make a preliminary decision on the chairmanship for the first time in the history of the CDU. Officially, the new party leader of the 1001 delegates has to attend a digital party congress on 21./22. January to be elected. It is considered certain that the delegates will stick to the vote of the members. This must then be confirmed by postal vote.

The election of the new party leadership is the consequence of the disaster of the Union in the federal election on September 26th. The CDU and CSU had their historically worst result of 24.1 percent and had to step into the opposition. The CDU leader Armin Laschet, who had failed as a candidate for chancellor, then announced his retirement. He is now a simple member of the Bundestag and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Röttgen and Merz had already run for chairmanship at the beginning of the year – and then lost to Laschet at a party congress. For Merz it is even the third attempt for the party chairmanship. After then Chancellor Angela Merkel withdrew from the CDU chairmanship in December 2018, he lost to Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

les
DPA
AFP