Status: 11/15/2021 8:27 p.m.
Ex-Union faction leader Merz is running again for the CDU chairmanship. The board of his CDU district association nominated him as the future party leader. The party is thus heading for a three-way battle for the Laschet successor.
The former Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz is running for the third time in a row for the CDU chairmanship. After matching media reports, the board of its CDU district association Hochsauerland Merz unanimously nominated in a digital meeting for the upcoming member survey on the future party chairman.
Merz explained his candidacy at the meeting, according to a press release. He was quoted as saying: “I would like to thank the members of my district executive for the nomination and apply again for the office of chairman of the CDU in Germany.” He would also like to thank “the many members and voters of the Union who have encouraged me to run”. Already on Tuesday he will introduce his part of the new leadership team of the CDU, which is applying with him, in Berlin, said Merz.
Merz against Röttgen against Braun
In addition to Merz, the foreign politician Norbert Röttgen and the executive head of the Chancellery, Helge Braun, have announced their candidacy to succeed Armin Laschet.
Merz is already making the third attempt at the office of party leader after the now only executive Chancellor Angela Merkel announced her withdrawal from the chair in 2018. CDU district chief Matthias Kerkhoff said: “We are fully convinced of this application and will support Friedrich Merz on his way. He can rely on his CDU in the Hochsauerlandkreis.”
Decision in January 2022
The application deadline for further candidates to succeed Armin Laschet, who is still chairman, runs until 6 p.m. this Wednesday. Then proposals must be submitted in writing to the CDU federal office. In the CDU, preparations are in full swing for a round of introductions to candidates for the Laschet successor. In Berlin, among other things, there should be at least one format in which all applicants introduce themselves to the members and which is also broadcast on the Internet or on television, reported the news agency dpa.
The federal executive board had also previously decided that possible candidates should present themselves for a member survey on the CDU website, for example. There should be a uniform format with a photo and a short résumé. The new chairman is to be elected by the 1001 delegates at a party congress in Hanover on January 21, following a member survey planned for December.