CDU politicians Merz and Laschet announce their bids to lead Germany’s biggest party

Former leader of the CDU parliamentary group Friedrich Merz on Tuesday announced that he will run for leadership of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), setting himself up for a possible candidacy to become Germany’s next chancellor. 

“This decision is a decision about direction for the CDU,” he said at a press conference in Berlin. “It is not a break with the past but a start and a renewal for the future. The CDU must now look ahead.”

Merz, a long-term rival of Chancellor Angela Merkel, is the third CDU politician to announce his candidacy for party chairman. Traditionally, the CDU chair also serves as the party’s candidate for chancellor. 

Read more: CDU is struggling with identity crisis in wake of AKK’s departure

Earlier that same day, state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia Armin Laschet also formally said he would run. 

Speaking alongside German Health Minister Jens Spahn at a press conference in Berlin, Laschet said the party currently finds itself “in the biggest crisis in our history.”

Spahn, who had also been considered a possible contender, then said he will not run and will instead serve as Laschet’s vice chair.

Ex-environment minister Norbert Röttgen was the first to announce his intention to run for the CDU top job earlier this month.

The party has been scrambling to find new leadership since Merkel’s successor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced that she would step down earlier this month.

The leadership vote will take place at a party congress on April 25. 

• Germany’s CDU: Here’s who could replace Angela Merkel

  Norbert Röttgen: Potential Greens ally

  Röttgen served as environment minister under Merkel from 2009-2012. He now heads the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee. He designed Germany’s energy transition plan and is seen as someone who could work with the Greens, the party polling second. He was also part of the “Pizza Connection,” a group of CDU and Greens MPs that held meetings in the ’90s and early 2000s.

• Germany’s CDU: Here’s who could replace Angela Merkel

  Armin Laschet: Affable state premier

  Laschet, a journalist and former European Parliament member, has headed Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2017. The liberal-conservative is a Merkel supporter — and backed her in the 2015 refugee crisis. Another “Pizza Connection” member, he is known for being able to work with both the FDP and Greens, which may be the most likely coalition setup in the next government.

• Germany’s CDU: Here’s who could replace Angela Merkel

  Jens Spahn: Young contender backs Laschet

  While tipped as a top contender for party chief, the 39-year-old surprised political onlookers on February 25, when he stood beside Laschet to support the state premier’s candidacy announcement. Spahn, who is openly gay, is popular in the CDU’s conservative wing. “It is about the future of the country and the future of our party,” Spahn said on his decision to back Laschet.

• Germany’s CDU: Here’s who could replace Angela Merkel

  Friedrich Merz: Longstanding Merkel critic

  The ex-leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag withdrew from frontline politics in 2009. He made a comeback in 2018 when he joined the CDU leadership race, losing narrowly to AKK. Merz recently quit his post as chairman at BlackRock, the world’s largest investment management firm, to “help the conservative party renew itself.” He appeals to the CDU’s conservative members.

 kp/rg (dpa, Reuters)

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