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The Union is looking for a candidate for chancellor.

The duel is Armin Laschet against Markus Söder, the decision should be made in the next few days.

During the course of Monday, the CDU presidium had already stood behind its chairman Laschet.

For its part, the CSU top countered with the oath of loyalty for Söder, even though he had announced on Sunday that he wanted to adhere to the majority opinion of the “bigger sister”.

Frank Plasberg and his guests dealt in the ARD talk "Hard but fair" on Monday evening with the question of how successful a Union candidate could still be, whose freestyle runs so rough.

North Rhine-Westphalia's interior minister Herbert Reul (CDU), SPD general secretary Lars Klingbeil, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (FDP), CSU general secretary Markus Blume, political scientist Albrecht von Lucke and Kristina Dunz, the deputy head of the capital office of the editorial network Germany (RND) were there ).

"Clear declaration of war by the CSU boss"

Even if two-thirds of the program was contested by party politicians, the observers initially set the tone.

"It's quite a drama, what's going on in the Union," journalist Dunz opened the debate.

By this she meant Söder's maneuver to announce on Sunday evening that he wanted to adhere to the will of the CDU, but then one day later not to recognize the clear vote of the CDU presidium in favor of Laschet.

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For Dunz, this is the result of the past two and a half years, in which the Union has not managed to organize Merkel's successor.

Instead, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has already been torn as chairwoman and is now in the process of damaging Laschet.

"In this respect, I would say that filthiness is still not enough, what happened today, but that is a clear declaration of war by the CSU boss, which can really drive the Union into a split and thus also into the loss of this election," said Dunz .

"The CDU did not think of it as a union"

Political scientist von Lucke diagnosed an inexplicable failure of the two party leaders to lead Söder to play his last card.

The Bavarian Prime Minister had gambled away with his belief that, given his leadership in the polls, the CDU leadership would propose to him the candidacy of their own accord.

"He sincerely hoped that the big minds in the CDU would ultimately turn away from Laschet," said von Lucke.

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But that did not happen, the CDU would have preferred to support its chairman.

“The CDU did not think of it as a union.

She did not think who is the strongest candidate for both of us, but who is the strongest candidate who maintains the arithmetic of power in the Union, who does not cost the CDU the second party leader, ”said von Lucke.

Söder had lured the CDU into the trap, but to the detriment of everyone involved.

"I also don't know what that is about"

Nevertheless, Söder now basically only has to go through the parliamentary group or even through the party base in order to be nominated as a candidate by the CDU in the end.

The joint appointment with Laschet in front of the Union faction is already on Tuesday.

Here Söder could rely on the fear of some MPs who would have to fear for their mandates with a candidate Laschet.

CDU man Reul, loyal supporter and cabinet colleague of Laschet, first tried to qualify the program: "You underestimate MPs," said the North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister, because it is not only about your own mandate but also the ability of the party as a whole to act .

For Reul, the candidate Laschet has apparently already been determined.

The fact that Söder did not accept that "surprised" him, so Reul - and even more clearly: "I don't like it either.

I don't know what that is about either. "

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And to a certain extent, as a final word, even more clearly: "If the leading forces in the CDU and CSU can't manage it," warned Reul, "then they will ruin the whole association and thus not just one party or two parties, but also the election opportunities."

"Process of weighing and listening"

CSU General Blume was in the meantime for one-on-one conversation and initially resorted to slightly confusing language images: "It's about fateful years for Germany that lie ahead of us, but it is also about fateful years for the Union and now I can just ask the church in To let the village. ”Understand that, whoever wants to.

In any case, Blume pleaded for a "process of weighing and listening" in the next few days - and meant by that, beyond the party executive committee, the faction and members should have their say.

Both parties need a broad range of opinions.

At the end of the day, both sides should be able to support the decision, said Blume, for whom the votes from the party leaders were only “first signals”.

"If they disintegrate, then I have to endure it"

The deputy parliamentary group leader of the FDP, Count Lambsdorff, made no secret of his sympathy for Laschet.

He denounced that the CDU had "no procedure" to clarify the candidate question - in contrast to all other parties.

Nevertheless, he called Söder's maneuver “crass”.

He reminded of Merkel's quarrel with Seehofer, which had already made him very worried at the time.

"I want to make it clear: I don't think we are interested in the Union breaking up again like this," said the FDP politician.

The SPD general secretary took up this, albeit a little less seriously: "If they break apart, then I have to endure it," said Klingbeil.

He compared the relationship between the CDU and the CSU with two trains racing towards each other, saying that there is no rapid recovery in sight - and that, in turn, is bad for government work in Berlin.

"I wonder whether the Union can still bear leadership responsibility in the country in this state," said Klingbeil, who could not imagine that the Union MEPs will talk about factual policy in their group meeting.

Rather, an open power struggle is being fought - and Count Lambsdorff also had a point to contribute: “If the Union actually decided in favor of Markus Söder, then Armin Laschet would become the CDU's Saskia Esken.

That cannot be in the interest of the CDU. "