Armin Laschet, head of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, was elected the new chairman of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in Germany.
During the online congress of the party, 521 people voted for his candidacy, another 466 delegates supported his rival, the former leader of the faction Friedrich Merz.
In the first round, Laschet received 380 votes, while Merz was supported by 385 people.
Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the Bundestag's international affairs committee, also claimed the post of head of the party, but he dropped out of the fight in the first round, gaining 224 votes.
After the victory, Lanshet made a speech in which he thanked the party members for their confidence, and his opponents Merz and Röttgen for an honest election campaign.
According to the German media, Laschet is the only candidate with experience in managing a large region.
He is also considered a possible candidate for the post of German chancellor in the upcoming elections in September, which will lead to the formation of a new government.
At the same time, it is not excluded that the party will be headed by one person, and another will be nominated as a candidate for chancellor.
No official statements on this matter have been made in the country yet.
AFP
© Odd ANDERSEN
Recall that until 2018, the Christian Democratic Union was headed by the current chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, but at the end of October 2018, she announced that she would not be re-elected as chairman of the CDU, and would not run for the post of chancellor after the expiration of her powers in 2021. ...
She also noted that she would not nominate successors for the post of party chairman, as such attempts "ended in failure."
In December 2018, Merkel was replaced as head of the party by the current Minister of Defense of Germany, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
She was also considered a candidate for the post of federal chancellor, but on February 10, 2020 she announced her decision to resign as head of the party and that she did not intend to compete for the post of head of government.
The announcement came amid a scandal that erupted after the Thuringian parliament elected Thomas Kemmerich of the FDP as head of the regional government.
His candidacy was voted for by FDP deputies, as well as conservatives from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the right from the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Earlier in the FRG there was no situation when the ultra-right AfD would directly influence the results of any elections, in addition, the CDU has always indicated that it will not cooperate with the right.
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As a result, Laschette was elected as the successor of Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Leading researcher at the Center for German Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexander Kamkin, in a conversation with RT, expressed the opinion that new faces are a plus for the CDU, as they can attract voters who are tired of Merkel's policies.
“In the short term, such a castling may play in favor of the Christian Democratic Union,” Kamkin said.
He added that the CDU's rating at the moment has “improved a little” compared to the previous elections due to rather active actions and positive media coverage.
“In general, we can say that by autumn the CDU is able to rectify its positions, and then the coalition will be created on the basis of the CDU.
And in such a situation Laschet has a chance to be elected chancellor, ”the analyst said.
In turn, President of the Center for Strategic Communications Dmitry Abzalov expressed the opinion that Lashet is the most systematic of all candidates, and also has the best rating in world organizations, and therefore may be the most comfortable for the local political establishment.
According to the expert, an uprising in favor of an active critic of the Cabinet of Ministers would damage the position of the CDU before the parliamentary elections.
Abzalov also noted the real experience of the government of the elected head of the party, as well as the fact that of all the candidates he criticized various radical segments to a lesser extent.
Alexander Kamkin, speaking about the likely course of German-Russian relations, advised not to wait for serious changes.
“The foreign policy of the CDU is quite homogeneous ... We will expect a fairly stable continuation of the sometimes difficult, but still, dialogue.
I think there will be a certain continuity of Merkel's course.
Considering that the CDU is a transatlantic party and, of course, it checks many fundamental issues with its American allies, ”the RT interlocutor concluded.
In turn, Abzalov noted that at the moment everything is developing quite favorably for relations with Russia.
“I think his promotion will be very serious.
We, of course, benefit from the preservation of the coalition (CDU / CSU with the SPD), while this scenario is emerging.
Now the stake is placed on continuity, especially against the backdrop of a pandemic, ”he said.