Laschet’s team: eight for Armin

Eight heads should bring about the trend reversal: three weeks before the election, the Union is putting a team at the side of its ailing chancellor candidate. More shoulders, more chances? Tom Schneider about “Doro”, “Andi” and the others.

So that there are no misunderstandings: The candidate continues to lead the matter alone. The stage in the CDU headquarters in Berlin should leave no doubt about that. Armin Laschet asks the members of his so-called future team to come one by one. Any appearance should be avoided that the candidate needs too much support.

The impression could arise after the team spirit in the Union has suffered in recent months. All over the country, the election campaigners seem unsettled: There was recently talk of “chicken heaps” internally and the real concern of actually losing the election on September 26th.

“I hope the troop wakes up now”

Friedrich Merz’s impatience can be seen. “I hope the troops wake up now,” he hisses, when asked about the increasingly poor poll results. His name is one of the unsurprising ones that morning in the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus. The financial and economic politician was already part of the closer team of the candidate for chancellor.

Dorothee Bär, the CSU Digital Minister of State from the Chancellery, is also known as a woman for technology issues in the Union. Andreas Jung, the parliamentary deputy from the Bundestag, has recently occupied more and more environmental issues. Laschet also seems to want to emphasize a special closeness to them: As “Doro” and “Andi” they step by his side.

It is noticeable that Jens Spahn is not among the chosen ones. They also wanted to involve representatives outside of politics, the statement said. Just like the two newcomers to politics presented by Laschet: The security expert Peter R. Neumann, for example, who is known to the television audience for his assessments of the terrorist threat. He has been advising Laschet for a long time on questions of internal and external security, but is still noticeably alienated with the new role. “I’m not a politician,” he says at the beginning. “So I want to say why I’m doing this to myself.” A sentence that Laschet’s election campaign regulations may not have envisaged. Rather a lot of praise for the “human qualities” of Armin Laschet and his “clear compass”, as Neumann emphasizes.

One of the surprising experts at Laschet’s side is Joe Chialo, who works for a large music publisher in Berlin and is supposed to provide impetus for supporting the cultural and creative industries. The Union wants to respond to the future concerns of the industry as a result of the corona pandemic with better social security.

When it comes to education and social cohesion, Laschet relies on expertise from federal states and municipalities. With Karin Prien, the education minister from Schleswig-Holstein, he brings a woman with black and green government experience to his side. As the former mayor of Annaberg-Buchholz, Barbara Klepsch from Saxony is said to stand for closeness to the citizens and expertise in the East.

The “Erststimmenqueen” is also there

Finally, Silvia Breher takes care of the family. The 48-year-old surprisingly became deputy party leader at the end of 2019. She also brings to the team what Laschet can only dream of at the moment: A clear electoral success, with which she entered the Bundestag in 2017 – as a “first-vote queen”, as Laschet admiringly adds. Laschet clearly names the opponent in the remaining three weeks: the SPD. “I wonder what the SPD team actually looks like,” he says at the end. “Many are hidden there.”

At the same time, however, the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus also emphasizes that “future team” members would not automatically become ministers in the event of government participation.