Merkel cancels invitation to dinner with Merz
Merkel cancels invitation to dinner with Merz
Friedrich Merz has almost made it. The new party leadership is elected at the CDU party conference and he has a clear majority. But his future task will be difficult: A new course must be found. However, Merz cannot count on much support from ex-Chancellor Merkel.
The designated CDU leader Friedrich Merz has invited all former party leaders to dinner. But according to a media report, Angela Merkel and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer canceled – with different reasons.
Dhe two former CDU chairmen Angela Merkel and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer canceled Friedrich Merz for a dinner. He reports that “Mirror” citing information from Union circles. Accordingly, Merz invited all living CDU chairmen to a dinner in Berlin. This is to take place on Saturday evening, shortly after his election as party leader, which is considered safe. With the proposal, the 66-year-old also wanted to set a sign of reconciliation with Merkel, with whom he has had an extremely difficult relationship for years, it said.
While Wolfgang Schäuble and Armin Laschet agreed to the Sauerland, Merkel and Kramp-Karrenbauer Merz gave a basket. According to “Spiegel”, the former chancellor’s office said there were “timely reasons” for her cancellation, while Kramp-Karrenbauer was dealing with private matters. The dinner now takes place without the two politicians.
In addition to the chairpersons, Merz also invited members of the old and new executive committee. Whether Merz and Merkel will find better contact with each other in their new roles is being watched with interest in the party. The former Union faction leader recently admitted that she had “completely underestimated” Merkel before she was promoted to chancellor.
Merkel has not been in office since December. Most recently, she turned down a job offer from UN Secretary-General António Guterres from New York. Guterres had wanted the 67-year-old to chair a high-ranking advisory body to deal with global public goods. According to her office, Merkel rejected the offer in a telephone call.
The former chancellor also renounced the honorary chairmanship of the CDU, as was announced on Friday. Merkel had come to the decision that this office “no longer fit in with the times”, said CDU leader Armin Laschet in the RTL / ntv “early start”. “We don’t have an honorary chairman — that’s a tradition from the past that doesn’t exist at the federal level now.”