State party conference
Successor for Laschet: NRW-CDU elects Hendrik Wüst as the new head of state
Applause from predecessor Armin Laschet (r.): Hendrik Wüst after his election as CDU state chairman in North Rhine-Westphalia.
© Bernd Thissen / DPA
Hendrik Wüst is the new chairman of the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia. At a state party conference in Bielefeld, the designated Prime Minister was elected as successor to Armin Laschet with 98.3 percent.
The North Rhine-Westphalian CDU has elected the incumbent Transport Minister Hendrik Wüst as its state chairman. At a party conference in Bielefeld, Wüst received more than 98 percent approval. The delegates thus followed the recommendation of the incumbent Prime Minister and previous head of the country, Armin Laschet, who had proposed Wüst as his successor in both offices at the beginning of October; There were no opposing candidates.
NRW votes on May 15th
645 delegates voted for Wüst out of 656 valid votes cast. That means an approval of 98.32 percent. It is therefore also certain that the North Rhine-Westphalian Christian Democrats with Wüst as the top candidate will be campaigning for the upcoming state elections.
A new parliament will be elected on May 15th in the most populous German state. As Prime Minister, Wüst Laschet is expected to inherit on Wednesday: Then the Düsseldorf state parliament will elect a new head of government in a special session.
Laschet, who did not run for a direct mandate in the Bundestag election, will move into the new Bundestag via the state list of his party. He must resign from his office as NRW Prime Minister at the latest by the constituent session of the Bundestag on Tuesday because membership in a state government and in the Bundestag are not compatible. He had already announced before the election that he would not return to NRW afterwards.