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WORLD:
Mr. Günther, please explain briefly and understandably why the Union has Armin Laschet (CDU) as a candidate for chancellor who is miles behind his competitor Markus Söder (CSU) in all surveys.
Daniel Günther:
Because the question of who should be candidate for chancellor is not only about the current polls, but also about who we trust to actually convince the voters in September - and then the office itself will be successful exercise.
So there were good reasons to nominate Armin Laschet.
He is a politician who can inspire, bring people together and successfully form coalitions.
His heart beats for Europe.
And that is important for this office.
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WORLD:
Does that mean, conversely, that Markus Söder does not have these qualities?
Günther:
Neither during nor after such a competition does it make sense to talk about what speaks against a candidate.
I am convinced that Armin Laschet is the right candidate.
That doesn’t diminish Markus Söder’s position, and that’s why I’m not going to deny him qualifications for important positions.
We had two good candidates to choose between.
It all happened a little more publicly with us than with the Greens.
We were very transparent about that.
Maybe a little too transparent.
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WELT:
And yet something must have motivated the CDU executive committee not to nominate Söder despite his clear advantages in terms of the party base and in the polls.
What could that have been?
Günther:
The executive board was guided by the fact that it trusted Armin Laschet to lead the Union successfully into the election campaign, to set clear content and to fill the chancellery.
He has proven in North Rhine-Westphalia that he can win elections.
Despite a narrow majority, he leads the coalition with the FDP extremely successfully.
His view extends far beyond his own country.
These are essential key qualifications for a chancellor.
Decision for Laschet - Union sinks to 21 percent in the survey
After Armin Laschet was nominated as candidate for chancellor of the Union, the CDU and CSU fell to 21 percent in a Forsa survey.
After the power struggle with Markus Söder, Armin Laschet is now hoping for cohesion in the election campaign.
Source: WORLD / Daniel Franz
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WORLD:
Wasn't the CDU actually more about not giving up the Chancellery at the beginning of the Bundestag election campaign?
Günther:
For us, the focus has always been that we will be the strongest force in the next election and that we will be the chancellor in the next government.
That applies to the whole Union, not just to the CDU.
WORLD:
The result of this nomination process could be quite the opposite: The Union will hand over the Chancellery to Annalena Baerbock in the autumn.
Does the CDU perhaps prefer to vacate the Chancellery for the Greens than for the CSU?
Günther:
We don't want to vacate the Chancellery at all.
I can remember various elections in which the polls at the beginning of the election campaign were not positive either.
Armin Laschet was also a long time ago when he won the election in North Rhine-Westphalia - and then prevailed.
If the last week has documented anything, it is the fact that Armin Laschet has steadfast qualities and assertiveness.
WELT:
But you can already see that the past week had to seem to every outsider as if the CDU leadership felt a certain desire for doom, right?
Günther:
It was definitely not our most professional week.
This also applies to the board meeting itself. If you can read in the live ticker what is being said in such a meeting, then that is a level of unprofessionalism that you cannot afford as a ruling party.
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Something like this is an incredible strategic disadvantage and a unique selling point that we absolutely need to get rid of.
This is what the three candidates for Chancellor stand for
The three candidates for Chancellor have finally been chosen: Armin Laschet will run for the Union, Olaf Scholz for the SPD and Annalena Baerbock for the Greens.
But what are the candidates?
And what do they stand for?
Source: WORLD / Isabell Finzel
WORLD:
Do you have any idea how things will look at your party base at the end of this week?
Günther:
In any case, many are relieved that this decision has now been made.
Every further day of uncertainty would have been one too many.
Incidentally, this also applies to those who have been for Markus Söder.
WORLD:
What lessons do you draw from this completely blended nomination process?
Günther:
Last week's debate will certainly not go down in history as the reason for the Union's electoral success.
This must not be repeated.
In this respect, it is now probably clear to all of us that in future we will need a regulated procedure for the nomination of a Union candidate for Chancellor.
WORLD:
The chairman of the Lower Saxony CDU, Bernd Althusmann, brought a member survey into play.
What do you make of it?
Günther:
I am an ardent supporter of representative democracy.
This applies to the state structures as well as to our party structures.
We have bodies elected by the grassroots - and I am very much in favor of these bodies living up to their responsibilities.
Incidentally, a look at the SPD and its experience with basic participation is enough.
The Greens have taken a completely different path - and are successful.
We shouldn't be guided by the unsuccessful.
What Baerbock and Laschet mean for the economy
Finally, both the Union and the Greens have agreed on their respective candidates for chancellor.
But can the economy now breathe a sigh of relief?
Robert Halver analyzes the impact of these decisions on the markets.
Source: WELT / Dietmar Deffner
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WORLD:
Could it be that after 16 years Merkel the Union is actually ready for the opposition?
Günther: In
any case, our country is not ready for the Union to go into opposition.
Experience has shown that, particularly in times of crisis, people trust the Union's ability to govern.
WORLD:
For the CSU, Söder is the candidate of the hearts.
For the CDU, Armin Laschet is ...
Günther:
... the candidate who wins the election in the end.
WELT:
What do you actually do when the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt at the beginning of June, as feared by CDU Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff, end in a debacle?
Will the whole debate about your candidate for chancellor start all over again?
Günther:
No, the question of the candidacy for chancellor has now been decided.
From my experience I can only say that one should not speak of a foreseeable “debacle” if one wants to win an election.
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Reiner Haseloff has already proven that he can win difficult elections.
I trust him to do that again this year.
WORLD:
The CDU board meeting had a good one for you as Prime Minister.
Everyone has seen that the Prime Minister's Conference (MPK) is a comparatively serious body.
Do you consider the disempowerment of the MPK in the fight against pandemics by the amended Infection Protection Act to be justified?
Günther:
The MPK is not disempowered and cannot be disempowered.
There will be another meeting next week.
Incidentally, the new regulations in the Infection Protection Act will change almost nothing for us in Schleswig-Holstein.
The law currently in force gives us sufficient tools to successfully combat the pandemic.
WORLD: In
your opinion, does the new Infection Protection Act not bring any advantages for combating pandemics?
Günther:
For us in Schleswig-Holstein, with its low incidence value of 72, it hardly makes a difference.
For Germany as a whole, it is probably good that it sets a uniform standard for areas with high levels of infection.
WORLD:
Are you
toying
with the idea of calling the mediation committee after the Federal Council's referral this Thursday?
Günther:
No.
It would not be right if a state like Schleswig-Holstein, which has gotten through the pandemic comparatively well, causes a delay by appealing to the mediation committee, which would then cause problems for other federal states.
Instead, we will table a motion for a resolution which documents that the Federal Council would have worded certain points of the law differently.
WORLD:
This includes the exit restrictions in regions with an incidence of over 100, which in your view are not proportionate.
Are you carrying them now?
Günther:
We would certainly have wished for more room for maneuver at this point too;
We are also skeptical about the rigid orientation towards the incidences.
A better sense of proportion, the consideration of regional conditions would certainly have done the law good.
We are documenting this with our motion for a resolution.
But of course we will implement the law exactly as it is decided.