(Berlin) The German right is still more divided than ever over the appointment of a leader to succeed Angela Merkel in the fall, and no compromise was reached on Sunday evening, contrary to expectations.
The internal competition to lead the Conservatives to the legislative elections on September 26 involved two men: the chair of the Christian Democratic Chancellor (CDU), Armin Laschet, a moderate supporter of continuity with Angela Merkel’s centrist head, and the president of the Bavarian Allied Party (CSU), Marcus Söder, a more right-wing politician.
The first should be at the head of the two largest formations and be supported by the basic cadres of his party.
Popular at half mast
However, his popularity in public opinion is low, much greater than that of his competitor.
According to a recent ARD poll, 44% of Germans consider Marcus Söder best suited to lead the Conservatives to the elections, versus 15% for Mr Laschet.
At first, these “primaries”, for which she did not speak, were concealed and turned into a frontal opposition for a week, while Angela Merkel planned to leave power after the elections.
The two men initially confirmed that they wanted to agree between them before the end of the week.
But no agreement was reached on Sunday evening at midnight Sunday, even if negotiations continued late in the evening between the competitors in Berlin.
The Bild Daily writes: “Everyone stands for his candidacy.” Marcus Söder appears less inclined to give up, as on Sunday he got, by a very large majority, the support of the German Conservative Youth and that some Angela Merkel’s party leaders gave him their support.
If the two men fail to decide between themselves, the decision could be taken by lawmakers from both parties, who meet on Tuesday.
In such a situation, Marcus Söder would see his chances increase: he is supported by Al Qaeda, while his rival is backed by the party bosses.
former
Such a clash between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) is rare since the alliance sealed by these two “brother parties” after the war.
However, they were fiercely opposed to running for the chancellery in 1980, and at that time it was Bavarian Franz Josef Strauss who won.
Bild newspaper warns that the two movements are “killing each other”. It “shatters the stakes,” says Der Spiegel.
A local CDU executive near Armin Laschet threatened over the weekend to breach the non-aggression pact between the two movements: He predicted that the Christian Democrats would not field candidates in Bavaria, and in return the Christian Social Union would do the same in the rest of the country.
“If Söder wants to impose his candidacy for the chancellery, if he wants to destroy the CDU, then the creation of the Christian Democratic Union in Bavaria should not be a taboo,” said Dennis Radtke.
Meanwhile, Angela Merkel remains silent, after declaring that she does not want to interfere in her succession.
However, it is partly responsible for the discord that arose at the end of its 16-year “reign”, wiping out years of its internal rivals and preventing the emergence of a natural caliphate.
Some in her party believe that she must now intervene to prevent this battle from permanently weakening the conservative camp with the aim of the legislative elections. He has already been criticized for his management of the pandemic, which is considered chaotic, dropping to 28% of voting intentions, ahead of the Greens by 20%.
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