The CDU’s results after the Brandenburg election leave much to be desired. However, CSU leader Markus Söder does not see this as a problem for chancellor candidate Merz.
Munich – After its success in the Thuringia and Saxony elections, the CDU is now facing a major setback. The Christian Democrats only achieved 12.1 percent in the Brandenburg election. But that is no obstacle for Friedrich Merz, who was recently elected as candidate for chancellor. At least if you ask CSU leader Markus Söder.
The leadership bodies of the CDU and CSU have now confirmed Friedrich Merz as their joint candidate for chancellor. He reacted with gratitude: “Thank you for the unanimous vote this morning. We are entering this election period with great unity from both parties. I accept this challenge with great gratitude and humility,” he was quoted as saying by the Union in a statement. With regard to the results of the Brandenburg election, he congratulated the SPD’s top candidate and Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke, while the CDU was reluctant to hold exploratory talks with the Social Democrats in Potsdam.
Söder makes Merz prediction: Election results will not put a damper on him
The CDU, in fact, emerged victorious from the elections. In contrast, the CDU suffered a defeat, which Söder says is a special case and is linked to regional peculiarities. The state election result was “painful” for the CDU, as Merz admitted. But like Söder, he also blames “external circumstances” for it.
“I don’t see any setback or impairment for Friedrich Merz,” the CSU leader told reports from German Press Agency According to the statement, this was after a meeting of his party executive committee in Munich. The candidate for chancellor was nominated by the CSU executive committee “from the purest of hearts and with great support”. Before the vote, Söder personally asked the members of the CSU executive committee for a unanimous result, it is said.
Yesterday’s news: Merz sets his sights on the federal elections
Söder and Merz would “rock” the upcoming election campaign before the 2025 federal elections together. “The CSU is well on track and will do everything it can to ensure that there is a good result for all of Germany.” In recent months, the CSU leader has shown his own interest in running for chancellor, until he threw his support behind Merz a few days ago.
Compared to the results in Thuringia and Saxony at the beginning of the month, the CDU performed rather modestly in the state elections in Brandenburg this time. In the previous elections in 2019, it received 3.5 percentage points more votes. The SPD won the election in Brandenburg in 2024 with 30.9 percent of the vote, closely followed by the AfD with 29.2 percent. The BSW overtook the CDU and achieved 13.5 percent straight away. And the Christian Democrats are moving into the state parliament in Potsdam with 12.1 percent. (gel/dpa)
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