A SHOWDOWN IN BERLIN K-question: Secret night meeting of Söder and Laschet without result - but tendency more and more clear

by Astrid Theil Söder and Laschet continue to fight over the post of candidate for chancellor of the CDU/CSU. They met at a secret summit in Berlin during the night. K-question: The self-imposed deadline for an agreement on the K-question between Söder (CSU) and Laschet (CDU) expired on Sunday. The nightly secret summit with Söder and Laschet ended without results. A trend is becoming increasingly clear. Update from 19 April, 9 a.m.: Markus Söder (CSU) is already on his way back to Bavaria after the inconclusive meeting with Armin Laschet (CDU) in Berlin. This was reported to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur on Monday morning. Update from 19 April, 8.45 a.m.: CSU politician Klaus Holetschek sees clear support for his leader Markus Söder on the K issue. "You can see now that there is broad support for Markus Söder from the CDU base," the Bavarian health minister told the ZDF "Morgenmagazin" on Monday. He added that the decision was about what the people wanted. Holetschek could not say how the power struggle between Söder and CDU leader Armin Laschet would be resolved. He said that it would become clear "in the course of the day" which bodies would decide. CDU/CSU candidate for chancellor: nightly consultations in Berlin without result Update from 19 April, 8.23 a.m.: The Laschet-Söder consultations on the K question dragged on until deep into the night. As Bild reports, the talks ended around 1.15 am. CDU leader Armin Laschet was one of the first to leave the Bundestag building. CSU leader Markus Söder followed ten minutes later. Update from 19 April, 7.30 a.m.: The decision on the CDU/CSU candidate for chancellor continues to drag on. Even after an overnight meeting of Armin Laschet (CDU) and Markus Söder (CSU) in Berlin, there have been no results so far. The CDU/CSU is currently under heavy pressure five months before the 2021 federal election. In addition, the Greens, currently the strongest force behind the Union, will present their choice this Monday: Annalena Baerbock or Robert Habeck. Night meeting in Berlin because of the Union's candidacy for chancellor: Armin Laschet and Markus Söder Update from 19 April, 4.58 a.m.: After an inconclusive meeting between Armin Laschet and Markus Söder on Monday night, the outcome of the power struggle over the CDU/CSU candidacy for chancellor is eagerly awaited. According to dpa, the two leaders of the CDU and CSU had met with their closest confidants for almost three and a half hours in the Bundestag building in Berlin late on Sunday evening. At first, there was no information about the contents of the meeting and the further course of events. The meeting in the Chancellor's Office was the climax for the time being of the dispute between the two parties, which has been escalating for the past week. If the rivals fail to agree this Monday on who will lead the CDU and CSU as candidate for chancellor in the elections on 26 September, it could come down to a decision in the Bundestag parliamentary group on Tuesday. Should the Bavarian premier actually prevail in the end, Laschet would be highly tarnished only three months after his election as CDU leader. FDP deputy leader Wolfgang Kubicki said he was "stunned" by what was happening in the CDU. "A party that declares in large parts or across the board that we cannot win an election with our chairman must look for a new chairman," he said on Sunday evening in the "Bild" political talk show "The Right Questions". Söder vs. Laschet: Union power struggle still unresolved after night meeting in Berlin Update from 19 April, 01:47: Markus Söder and Armin Laschet's meeting in the Bundestag building has ended. According to dpa information, the two negotiated for almost three and a half hours on the clarification of the chancellor candidate issue. However, no result was achieved at the secret summit.