In the Union, criticism of the statements made by party and parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz on how to deal with the AfD continues. The political competition should rejoice.
Berlin – comment situation catastrophic, the party unsettled, the prospects for the chancellor candidacy shaky. After a year and a half as CDU leader, Friedrich Merz is on fire – not only in the media, but also in his own party. Individuals in the CDU are even publicly questioning whether Sauerland is the right person when it comes to challenging Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in the 2025 federal election. And that, although Merz, as chairman of the party and parliamentary group, should be the born candidate for chancellor.
But party friends are no longer just criticizing behind closed doors that Merz is to blame for the situation with repeated misleading statements. And only one benefit: the AfD, which he actually wants to fight. The traffic light politicians around Scholz, even in difficult times, should rejoice in the face of the fuss and the negative headlines about Merz.
A storm of indignation within the party
Several in the Union had understood Merz’s words in the ZDF interview about dealing with the AfD at the municipal level as a softening of the clear demarcation that he himself had repeatedly postulated. A storm of indignation within the party followed, and the CSU also distanced itself sharply – in the end Merz rowed back. He called the allegations absurd and made it clear that the incompatibility decision of the CDU still applies to the municipal level. This excludes cooperation with the AfD and the Left Party.
Negative headlines and dissatisfaction
“Frederick the Wrong” is the headline of “Stern” in its new issue. Merz failed “arrogantly and clumsily” in the fight against the traffic lights and the AfD again and again to himself. “Can he become chancellor like that,” asks the magazine. Merz could push such headlines aside as a media exaggeration, only: If you ask around in the CDU, there are quite a few who have been asking such questions for a long time. It seems as if the statements on ZDF, which were criticized as misleading, were the last straw.
The fact that ex-Saar Prime Minister Tobias Hans declared the K-question in “Stern” to be “completely open” can be credited to Merz as a cross shot from the back rows. Hans, a former member of the CDU leadership, has little weight in the party. Nevertheless, he should speak to some people when he says that you have to “tremble before every summer interview because you don’t know what will come out of it in the end”.
Reul and the “habble”
The comments of the NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul, who is valued in the party, have more weight. He says in the ZDF morning magazine: “People need to know why we find the AfD problematic. When people notice what kind of fuss is going on at the moment, people say: “Yes, God, none of them can do it.” And then they vote for the AfD.” And even the head of the Junge Union (JU), Johannes Winkel, criticized Deutschlandfunk when asked whether Merz’s statements were a mistake: “There was at least reason to misunderstand him. Of course, that shouldn’t happen.”
Loud silence from Wüst and Günther
There was initially no public support for Merz from possible competitors in the K question. NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst was “unfortunately not available due to vacation,” the state party said on Monday in response to a dpa request. Nothing changed on Tuesday either. Wüst’s counterpart in Schleswig-Holstein, Daniel Günther, also kept a low profile.
Above all, Wüst’s loud silence could make Merz think. It was not until mid-June that Wüst had interviewed speculation about his own ambitions for the chancellor candidacy before a small CDU party conference – much to the annoyance of Merz. In the CDU, however, they consider it unlikely that the 48-year-old could now use the current difficulties of the chairman to make a new attempt on this issue. Wüst can wait in peace. Many in the party believe that if Merz fails, he will end up running for chancellor anyway. As head of the regional association with the most members, Wüst is considered suitable for almost every important office.
No quiet summer weeks for Merz
For Merz, after the disaster on Sunday, it will hardly be anything with a few quiet summer weeks. In almost every interview that is conducted with prominent party members, the subject of the AfD is likely to come up again. Will it still be possible, as planned, to finally focus more on your own CDU issues than before? After all, it is good for Merz that Parliament has a summer break until the beginning of September, can be heard in the Union series. Because otherwise the group leader would also have to deal with outraged MPs.
Experienced CDU members do not believe that Merz currently has to worry about his post as party and parliamentary group leader. He and the CDU leadership are elected until the party congress in early May 2024 – then the delegates are in demand.
For Merz, a lot will depend on whether he can turn things around and whether the polls are finally pointing up, according to the CDU. At the end of August, the executive board of the Union parliamentary group meets for a retreat in Schmallenberg, Sauerland. Until then, Merz has a faux pas test. dpa
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