Chancellor candidacy of the CDU/CSU Power struggle on the home straight

Status: 18.04.2021 23:56 hrs There is no decision yet - but it is apparently getting closer: Armin Laschet and Markus Söder have arrived in Berlin. Meanwhile, the Junge Union has come out in favour of Söder.Armin Laschet or Markus Söder? Actually, the leaders of the CDU and CSU wanted to agree by the end of the week on which of them would lead the Union in the Bundestag election campaign. There is still no agreement, but at least there is some movement. Both candidates arrived in Berlin in the evening. According to the news agency "dpa", both politicians are in the Bundestag building. Kristin Schwietzer, ARD Berlin, sees no reliable majority for Armin Laschet tagesthemen 22:45 , 18.4.2021 JU speaks out in favour of SöderAfter days of wrangling, support for CDU leader Laschet seems to be waning: In the evening, the state chairpersons of the Junge Union (JU) came out in favour of Söder's candidacy with a large majority, as JU leader Tilman Kuban announced. Kuban called on Laschet and Söder to "finally live up to their responsibility for the CDU/CSU" and to quickly resolve the issue of the candidate. The joint junior organisation of the CDU and CSU would "not allow an overheated debate in the parent parties CDU and CSU to bring strife and division into the Junge Union", Kuban explained. "The two candidates had enough time to come to a decision," it continued. "This did not happen, and now we see ourselves forced to position ourselves." This was "done with a clear majority in favour of Markus Söder". Tilman Kuban, Junge Union chairman, "We will be very successful with both candidates for chancellor." tagesthemen 22:45 , 18.4.2021 In Lower Saxony, the CDU also held a meeting in the evening. There, state leader Bernd Althusmann called together the members of his executive committee as well as the district and county chairmen for a video call. There, a mixed picture emerged, reports the news agency "Reuters". Although there were slightly more supporters for Markus Söder as candidate for chancellor, many participants also spoke out in favour of Armin Laschet. The tenor was that both candidates would be supported. Almost all participants had demanded that a decision be made in the short term.Laschet increasingly on the defensiveLaschet had already been increasingly on the defensive: After the state premiers of Saxony-Anhalt and Saarland, Michael Kretschmer from Saxony was the third CDU state premier to indicate a preference for Söder. On ARD, he did not come out clearly in favour of the CSU leader, but pointed out that Söder had many supporters in the Saxon CDU, which he "could not underestimate".Should Laschet's talks with Söder not lead to a result, the decision on the candidate for chancellor would presumably come down to the Bundestag faction - here Söder has considerable support even among CDU MPs. Söder's supporters made several suggestions over the weekend on procedures that could pave the way for Söder to run for chancellor - despite the clear backing of the CDU's top committees for Laschet: for example, a vote in the parliamentary group or the involvement of the district chairpersons of both CDU/CSU parties. Kai Wegner, regional chairman of Berlin/CDU, talks about the CDU/CSU's candidate for chancellor Report from Berlin, 18.4.2021 In the report from Berlin, the Berlin CDU leader Kai Wegner said with regard to the CDU: "As chancellor candidate of CDU and CSU, the majority wants Markus Söder." He brought up a face-saving option for Laschet: the party presidiums of the CDU and CSU should jointly declare themselves in favour of Söder as candidate for chancellor, Laschet could then remain a "strong party leader".Wegner rejected a special meeting of the CDU federal executive to support Laschet. "That's nonsense." If the two party leaders did not agree, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group would have to decide on Tuesday.