BERLIN (AP) – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right party is electing a new leader this weekend, a decision that will help German voters choose her successor to lead the EU’s largest economy after her 16-year term. years.
Merkel, now 66, has led Germany and Europe through a series of crises since taking office in 2005. But she said more than two years ago that she would not seek a fifth term as chancellor. .
Now, his Christian Democratic Union party is looking for its second new leader since resigning in 2018. That person will run for chancellor in the September 26 elections in Germany or have a big say in who is running.
Current leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has announced his resignation in February last year, after failing to impose his party authority. A decision on her successor has been repeatedly delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Finally, the CDU decided to hold an online convention this weekend.
Delegates from Germany’s strongest party can choose between three main candidates on Saturday who differ significantly, at least in style. There is no clear favorite.
Friedrich Merz, 65, would mark a break from the Merkel era. The party dominated the central field, ending military recruitment, allowing if not embracing same-sex marriage and allowing a large number of migrants, among others.
He has a more traditionally conservative and pro-business image and recently wrote in Der Spiegel magazine that “the CDU must, whether it wants to or not, come out of Angela Merkel’s shadow.”
Merz said he wanted to give a “political house” to disappointed conservatives, but would not move “by a millimeter” to the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
This is Merz’s second bid to lead the party, after losing a short time last time to Kramp-Karrenbauer, considered Merkel’s favorite candidate. He led the center-right group in parliament from 2000 until 2002, when Merkel fired him from the post and left parliament in 2009 – later as a lawyer and chairman of the supervisory board of the German subsidiary of investment manager BlackRock.
Merz has tried to present his decade outside of politics as a strength, but has no government experience. Armin Laschet, the governor of Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, offers this.
Laschet, 59, is a more liberal figure, elected governor in 2017 in a traditional center-left fortress and likely considered to continue Merkel’s centrist approach. In a debate between candidates last week, he said: “What I bring is government experience, leading a large state, balancing different interests and – this may not be detrimental to a CDU leader – winning the election.”
The third candidate, Norbert Roettgen, lost the 2012 state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia. Merkel later fired him as German environment minister. Roettgen, 55, says he learned from the experience. He has declared himself a candidate for the “modern center” that focuses on issues such as the fight against climate change.
Roettgen, now chairman of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, has long been considered an outsider, but polls have shown him gaining ground among CDU supporters. He suggested last week that it would be a pleasant alternative for supporters of both Merz and Laschet.
“I’m not in one camp,” he said. “I am for everyone and I believe that those who do not vote for me will be able to live with me and accept me if I am elected.”
Laschet is the only candidate who has had to make important decisions in the coronavirus pandemic. This is both a strength and a weakness: he has increased his profile, but has received mixed reviews, especially as a vocal advocate of easing restrictions after the first phase of the pandemic.
The CDU as a whole benefited from the coronavirus crisis, taking a strong poll, leading to an unusually uncertain election year. thanks to good reviews for leading the Merkel pandemic. It is uncertain whether any of these candidates could get these ratings in the election. Saturday’s decision will not be the last word of the center-right candidate for chancellor.
This is partly due to the fact that the CDU is part of the Union bloc, which also includes its sister party, the Christian Social Union only in Bavaria. The two sides will decide together who will run for Merkel’s post, although no timetable has been set.
CSU leader Markus Soeder is himself considered a potential candidate. The Bavarian governor has gained stature during the pandemic as a strong supporter of tough restrictions to reduce coronavirus, and his poll ratings exceed those of CDU candidates.
And some consider health minister Jens Spahn, who is running for CDU deputy leader under Laschet, a possible contender.
Anyone running will face Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, the struggling center-left Social Democrat candidate, currently Merkel’s junior coalition partner, as well as a candidate from the Green Party, who intends to run for office. .
The CDU leader will be elected by 1,001 delegates. If no candidate wins the majority, there will be a second. Under German law, the online result must be confirmed by a postal ballot, the results of which are expected on 22 January.
The plan is for only Saturday’s winning candidate to be in that ballot.
The unit “is the top priority for everyone,” outgoing leader Kramp-Karrenbauer told the dpa news agency. “And it’s also my big demand for the party.”