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The new president of the Christian Democratic Union, at 66 years old and in his third attempt to win the highest position in the party, ratified his victory by being elected by almost 95% of the delegates. He claimed to be “deeply moved” and announced that he will leave the centrist position adopted by the former chancellor in her 16 years in command. His great challenge: to rebuild the party after the electoral defeat last September.
This Saturday, January 22, 2022, the internal elections of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) were held, the party that Angela Merkel represented for 16 years in the Chancellery and that lost power after a gray performance by Armin Laschet in September. passed before the social democrats of Olaf Scholz.
Arch-conservative Friedrich Merz came out on top and reaffirmed his leadership after also winning the party’s informal elections a month ago. In the session, which was held virtually for health reasons, he won 915 of the 983 votes. That is, 94.62%, according to the general secretary of space, Paul Ziemiak.
It surpassed the figure it had obtained in December, when it also won, but with 62.1% over the foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen (26%) and the former head of the Merkel Chancellery, Helge Braun (12%), who were outlined as the candidates ideologically closest to the former chancellor. Merz will not officially take office until the vote is confirmed in writing on January 31.
Merz, 66, said he was “deeply moved and impressed” by the categorical result and thanked the delegates, who “send a clear message of change and renewal.” In addition, he warned that from now on the CDU will leave the centrist path that characterized the Merkel cycle.In another order, he expressed his support for Mario Czaja, who will assume the role of new general secretary instead of Ziemiak, after obtaining 92.89% of the votes.
In his victory speech, he spoke of the “important mission” of assuming the work of the CDU “with strength and heart” and rebuilding the unit to recover the power that the party recently had at the national level. “What we experienced in 2021 cannot be repeated,” he said regarding the inmates during the last electoral campaign.
Finally, he criticized the work of the new foreign minister, Olaf Scholz, in the existing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, accusing him of not showing a clear position. “The former foreign ministers would have shown leadership,” he said. “In the opposition it will no longer be necessary to take any coalition partner into consideration. We can say what we think and do what we say. Our main task will be to control this government, to challenge this chancellor,” he concluded.
One of the most important missions that Merz will have will be to reposition the CDU and the Christian Social Union (CSU) – Bavaria’s sister party – as the strongest opposition in Parliament and to make clear the differences between his front and the AfD. far right party.
The new Christian Democrat leader was a senior lawmaker earlier this century, but resigned to pursue a private career. He returned to the German Parliament in 2021. He will now occupy a transcendental place in the opposition after losing two previous internal elections. The first against Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in 2018 and the second against Laschet last year.
However, Merz has serious challenges at the helm of the CDU. Not only has the party just lost the elections after 16 years in power, but the figure of Merkel will not be easy to replace. In addition, the new leader has quite a few rivals within his community. It will not be easy for this markedly conservative to clearly differentiate himself from the positions of the far-right AfD, who have also declared themselves to be in opposition to the government of Olaf Scholz.
with EFE
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