As of: November 2nd, 2021, 4:23 p.m.
The CDU has decided on its timetable to elect a new chairman. The 400,000 members should vote from the beginning to the middle of December. The winner is to be named at a party congress at the end of January.
The CDU wants to determine its new chairman through a member survey. This is to be officially elected into office at a federal party conference at the end of January. The federal executive board unanimously approved this procedure, said party chairman Armin Laschet.
Kristin Schwietzer, ARD Berlin, on the CDU decision for a member survey
tagesschau24 4:00 p.m., November 2nd, 2021
The party congress should take place on January 21 and 22, 2022 in Hanover. For the first time in its history, the CDU will make the election of the federal chairman dependent on a member survey. A district delegates’ conference last Saturday demanded just that by a large majority.
Base choice not binding
According to the schedule of the CDU leadership, the 400,000 members will be informed of the questioning about the party leadership from November 15th by member letter. The ballot papers should be sent by the beginning of December. December could then start voting. The counting and announcement of the results are planned for December 17th.
However, the party statutes do not provide for a binding election of the boss by the grassroots. Therefore, the winner of the member survey must be formally elected to office by the delegates of the federal party congress. “With this procedure we can confidently go into the state elections in the coming year,” said party leader Laschet. However, the step is one-time, the statutes should not be changed.
Country leaders pushed the pace
The personnel realignment will therefore drag on longer than many in the party would like. Before the committee meeting, several CDU politicians expressed the wish to clarify the leadership issue this year. According to the party headquarters, the time was too short for this.
Press conference on the deliberations in the CDU on personnel realignment
tagesschau24 3:00 p.m., November 2nd, 2021
Saarland’s Prime Minister Tobias Hans, who already had to pass a state election in March, said before the meeting that a federal party conference was not “too late” until next year. That is why the party congress should take place this year too. This is ambitious, but feasible.
“My concern is that we come to decisions quickly so that clarity can be found quickly,” said North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst. A new state parliament will be elected in NRW in May. Hamburg’s CDU state chairman Christoph Ploß thought it best that “we have clarified the question of who will be the new chairman by Christmas”.
Nobody dares to take cover
According to Secretary General Paul Ziemiak, applications for the chairmanship can be submitted from next Saturday. None of the possible applicants has yet registered a candidacy. But it is assumed that Friedrich Merz will try again. After two defeats against Laschet and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, he hopes for success on the third attempt.
Whether CDU Vice Jens Spahn is running is still open. His announcements so far are only vague. He told Deutschlandfunk that he “wanted to shape the new CDU”. In which position he left open. Norbert Röttgen also had ambitions for the top position in the past. He positions himself as an opponent to Merz. In interviews, he warns against positioning the CDU too conservatively.
With information from Uli Hauck, ARD capital studio
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Jim-Bob Nickschas, ARD Berlin, November 2nd, 2021 3:59 p.m.