Friedrich Merz is already designated party leader. He is to be elected the new chairman at a party conference on Saturday. He sees the CDU facing a difficult task.
Update from January 22, 8 a.m.: It is now a question of “unity and team spirit”, said the outgoing Secretary General Paul Ziemiak on Friday evening in Berlin after meetings of the Presidium and the Federal Executive Committee to prepare for the online party congress this Saturday. As a consequence of the Union’s historically worst result in a federal election, at 24.1 percent, the CDU is re-electing its entire leadership. The result must then be formally confirmed by postal vote. The CDU must compete together as a team, said Ziemiak. With four state elections, 2022 is a crucial year. “We want and we will win the upcoming state elections,” he said, referring to the elections in Saarland in March and in Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia in May, where the CDU is the prime minister.
CDU party conference: Kühnert speaks of “Merz in sheep’s clothing” – Germans are skeptical about the chances of unity
It was eagerly awaited how great the support is with which the 1001 delegates are giving the 66-year-old Merz – and whether he will get the more than 80 percent of the votes he is aiming for. Immediately after the party congress, Merz wanted to gather the new leadership for the first time. Officially, the constitutive meetings of the new management bodies should be on February 7th. SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert told the newspapers of the Funke media group about the future CDU boss: “I think he’s a Merz in sheep’s clothing.” Merz is trying tactically to create a new image. “He seems to have noticed that the socio-political positions he has presented in Germany are no longer winning majorities and are also scaring off potential coalition partners,” said Kühnert.
At Merz’s request, Mario Czaja, a member of the Bundestag and former Berlin Senator for Social Affairs, is to be elected Secretary General at the party conference. Among other things, Czaja is to cover the workers’ wing. For formal reasons, Christina Stumpp, a member of the Bundestag presented by Merz as the future Deputy Secretary General, can only be elected at a later party conference. Of the five previous deputy chairmen, only Silvia Breher, a member of the Bundestag from Lower Saxony, is standing again. The Schleswig-Holstein Education Minister Karin Prien, the Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer, the Baden-Württemberg member of the Bundestag Andreas Jung and the member of the Bundestag and economic expert Carsten Linnemann are new candidates.
Update from January 22, 7:30 a.m: According to a survey, Germans are skeptical that future CDU leader Friedrich Merz can reunite the Union after the clashes with the CSU. According to a representative survey by the opinion research institute Civey on behalf of the Augsburg General (Saturday editions), 44 percent of those surveyed do not believe that Merz can lead the Union to unity.
Before the CDU party conference: Merz hopes for a lot of approval – the state of the party is “sobering”
On the other hand, 38 percent trust him to create more common ground in the relationship between the CDU and the CSU. 18 percent are undecided when asked whether Merz will succeed in uniting the CDU and CSU more strongly again. In the supporters of the CDU and CSU, however, 75 percent trust Merz to overcome the differences between the two parties. However, at 47 percent, the skepticism among the Bavarian population is even greater than in the federal government. On the other hand, only around one in five supporters of the SPD and Greens believe that the election of Merz will bring better times for the CDU and CSU.
First report from January 21, 4:30 p.m.:
Berlin – Friedrich Merz mastered the obligation at the third attempt, now only the freestyle is missing: On Saturday, the 66-year-old is to be elected the new party leader of the CDU at an online party conference.
In December 2021, Merz had already been selected with 62.1 percent as the successor to Armin Laschet, who failed as a candidate for chancellor. It was the first member survey on party leadership in the history of the CDU.
CDU party congress: Merz hopes for great approval when elected chairman
The election of Merz at the party congress is considered safe. The economist is hoping for a lot of approval there. “An eight in front would be nice,” said Merz of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” with a view to the percentage result. Merz and the CDU receive tailwind from the Union voters, such as the latest Germany trend from Infratest dimap on behalf of the ARDmorning magazines indicates.
He sees the CDU facing a difficult task after the bitter defeat in the federal elections. “We have only reached 24.1 percent of the voters and 19 percent of those entitled to vote in Germany,” analyzed Merz in the SZ. “It almost doesn’t get any more brutal than that.” The state of the party was “sobering” and he called the situation among young voters “dramatic”.
CDU party conference: Friedrich Merz faces a difficult task as chairman
In the ARDmorning magazine Merz said that the CDU, as a “middle party”, must permanently bind voter groups “across all generations” and “all forms of coexistence”. The “big question” is whether the CDU can remain a people’s party and achieve election results of “well over 30 percent” again.
With his election at the party conference on Saturday, which is considered safe, Merz’s path to power is still not official. Since the event will be held online, the election must be finally confirmed by postal vote. The CDU wants to announce the result on January 31st. *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
#Kühnert #speaks #Merz #sheeps #clothing #hopes #great #approval