Armin Laschet versus Markus Söder: The first reactions from politics

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After the vote of the CDU board for Armin Laschet as candidate for chancellor, it must be shown this Tuesday whether the power struggle in the Union is actually over.

The CDU's executive committee supported Laschet that night with a clear majority.

The first politicians reacted to the vote on Tuesday morning.

Some consider the power struggle in the Union to be over.

Others consider the decision of the federal executive board to be wrong and emphasize that the grassroots want CSU boss Markus Söder as a candidate.

One of the people who clearly spoke out in favor of Laschet after the vote was the former CDU general secretary

Peter Tauber

. "My thesis: Whoever wins an election against Hannelore Kraft, who prevails against Friedrich Merz and asserts himself against Markus Söder, can become Chancellor," wrote Tauber on Twitter. Tauber was general secretary of his party from 2013 to 2018. He has since announced his retirement from politics, among other things for health reasons.

The CDU MP

Roderich Kiesewetter

was confident that Markus Söder will give up his own ambitions.

“Söder clearly asked for a vote and got it,” said Kiesewetter in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”.

The CDU made a very clear decision and the CSU had previously made it clear that they would accept the result, said Kiesewetter.

“We have a solution, a good proposal.” The party should now “devote itself to the needs of the citizens with all its might,” demanded the Baden-Württemberg MP.

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The Union

parliamentary group

vice-chairman

Thorsten Frei also

expects the question of the candidate for chancellor to be resolved amicably between the CDU and CSU. He assumes that there will be no vote in the Bundestag faction of the Union on the candidate question, said Frei on Deutschlandfunk. "The process overall could have come across a bit more structured and sovereign." It is crucial that you gather behind the candidate for chancellor in order to go into the election campaign together. "It is by no means agreed that we will win the Chancellery just like that."

The former CDU general secretary

Ruprecht Polenz

sees Lascht as a sufficiently legitimized candidate for chancellor.

"This is really a clear result, which I think will be accepted by everyone," Polenz told Bavarian Broadcasting.

"The losing minority must join the majority decision," he continued.

The CDU budget

expert Eckhardt Rehberg

told the broadcaster NDR Info that Söder must now stand by his word, support Laschet and campaign together without resentment.

"If he did not do that, that would be the second break in the word." Last Monday, the CDU board had already given an opinion in favor of Laschet, which Söder had not accepted.

“Against the party base.

That has never happened before!"

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"If that goes on between the CDU and the CSU, between Laschet and Söder, it will damage the Union even more than it has before, and then we can stop the election campaign," Rehberg warned. He also recalled that Laschet had only been elected party chairman of the CDU three months ago. "It must have been clear to everyone who is chairman, who also has access to the candidate for chancellor".

The Bremen member of the Bundestag

Elisabeth Motschmann

, however, criticized the result of the vote. "Project candidate for chancellor against their own party base. That has never happened before! ”Wrote Motschmann on Twitter. Motschmann had spoken out with dozens of other MPs in favor of including the Union faction in the Bundestag in the decision on the K question. She had said to the “Weser-Kurier”: “I really appreciate Armin Laschet. But can he achieve the necessary majority in the Bundestag election for the CDU / CSU? This question must be carefully discussed with the grassroots. "

SPD leader

Norbert Walter-Borjans

doubts that the CSU leadership will give in. "It is to be hoped that the CDU leadership has settled the unspeakable cockfight tonight and that both parties - CDU and CSU - are finally focusing again on factual politics for so many people in the country during this difficult time," he told the German press -Agency.

"As someone who has not only seen Markus Söder's behavior over the past few days, but also knows his opinion of Armin Laschet from years of personal experience, I am not very optimistic about the announced vow of loyalty by the party 'Freundes' from Bavaria" said Walter-Borjans. He added: "As a political competitor and North Rhine-Westphalia I can congratulate Armin Laschet on the result of the vote - it is too early to congratulate."