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Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - After Armin Laschet was elected CDU leader, government representatives reacted with incomprehension to appeals from the opposition that the Prime Minister should not neglect his duties in North Rhine-Westphalia.

"If Laschet hadn't run for office or lost, the same people would have said that the state government lacks influence in Berlin," said Vice Prime Minister Joachim Stamp (FDP) of the "Rheinische Post" (Sunday).

The focus is on fighting pandemics.

There was complete agreement on this between him and Laschet.

Previously, for example, the opposition leader in the Düsseldorf state parliament, Thomas Kutschaty (SPD), warned that the country did not deserve a “part-time prime minister” and that it “could not afford one at this time”.

SPD state chief Sebastian Hartmann had demanded that the interests of the people in North Rhine-Westphalia and the fight against the pandemic should have absolute priority.

NRW Transport Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) referred in the Rheinische Post to the Federal Chancellor, who had also been party leader for years.

"And in the corona pandemic we all learned that you don't have to travel all the time and lose time: you can do a lot very well via video conference," said the Christian Democrat.

Finance Minister Lutz Lienenkämper (CDU) said that the new role of the Prime Minister would strengthen the national political weight of North Rhine-Westphalia.