“Merz must be aware that he is not the boss”
| Reading time: 3 minutes
Ole von Beust was Hamburg’s First Mayor from 2001 to 2010, and today he is back as a lawyer
Source: Bertold Fabricius / Pressebild.de
Hamburg’s former mayor Ole von Beust calls his party to reason. Instead of internal strife, everyone should ensure that the CDU remains the ruling party after the federal election. He describes the criticisms “allegedly conservative” as “too thin”.
NAfter the election of Armin Laschet as the new CDU head, Hamburg’s former mayor Ole von Beust calls his party to reason. “The bottom line is: when Angela Merkel is gone, Germany is no longer a CDU / CSU country,” said von Beust WELT AM SONNTAG (regional edition Hamburg). The high values of the Union are due in large part to the popularity of the Chancellor. Instead of internal strife, everyone should “ensure that the Union remains the governing party even after the federal election,” said the 65-year-old. That is the goal, there is no place for personal injury due to an election result.
Hamburg’s former mayor shows little understanding for those members who want to turn their backs on the party after the failure of the candidate Friedrich Merz. Anyone who resigns because of an unpleasant election result should check themselves. “You don’t make politics because of individual people, but because you want to have a say in content,” emphasized von Beust, who ruled the Hanseatic city from 2001 to 2010. The 65-year-old added: “We have to come down from the tree again.” Laschet had prevailed against Merz, one didn’t have to like that, but everyone should now live with that.
On the way to the general election, one of the challenges for the new chairman, according to von Beust, is to pacify the party. “Armin Laschet will succeed in bringing the currents together. It doesn’t polarize, it connects, ”said von Beust. For him, examples such as the nuclear phase-out, the abolition of compulsory military service, the change in the image of the family and the refugee policy are “too thin when it comes to allegedly conservatives complaining about the content of their party”. Conservative means “to maintain moderation and mean, no end justifies the means, no matter how noble the goal.” It depends on a clever pragmatism, which is characterized by a basic attitude, so von Beust.
“I think Armin Laschet can do it better than Friedrich Merz”
Furthermore, from the perspective of the former mayor, social cohesion as a whole is at stake: “If we look at countries like the USA, France or Italy, then the great task of politics is to unite society.” This is alongside economic expertise also about social issues, socio-political issues and sustainability.
Beust: “There is a rift between town and country, partly between East and West, young and old with mutual distrust and aggressiveness, right up to actions against institutions of democracy such as the Reichstag in Berlin or the Capitol in Washington.” Consequently, politicians would have to Connect the reluctant parts of society in terms of content and emotions. “I think Armin Laschet can do it better than Friedrich Merz,” said von Beust.
According to von Beust, in order to be successful in the federal elections, the CDU has to set up a team that exudes attitude, charisma and competence and “gives people the feeling that they are in the best of hands with us”. The failed Merz should also play an important role. “He should bring his talent to bear in economic and regulatory policy. However, he has to be aware that he is doing this in a team in which he is not the boss, ”said von Beust. However, it is still too early for a decision on the Union’s chancellor question.
You can read the detailed interview tomorrow in WELT AM SONNTAG.
.
