Union faction in the Bundestag: Laschet threatens new resistance

In the Union there is growing resistance to the strategy of Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet of relying on explorations with the Greens and the FDP despite the historic defeat in the Bundestag election. Lower Saxony's CDU boss Bernd Althusmann demanded: “We should now humbly and respectfully accept the will of the voters, with decency and attitude. Change was wanted. "Hesse's Prime Minister Volker Bouffier underlined:" We have no claim to government responsibility. "Junge Union boss Tilman Kuban said:" We lost the election. Period. “The clear mandate lies with the SPD, Greens and FDP.

The Union is seething, and there have been isolated calls for Laschet to withdraw.

Although the Union fell to 24.1 percent and the SPD became the strongest party with Olaf Scholz, the Union's candidate for chancellor confirmed on the evening of the election that he was aiming for a Jamaica coalition with the FDP and the Greens - with which the SPD would also like to govern.

The Social Democrats derive a clear voting mandate from the result of 25.7 percent.

"Nobody wants Armin Laschet as Chancellor"

Scholz wants to quickly form a government, he sees enough common ground with the Greens and the FDP. “There are overlaps,” he emphasized on Monday evening on ZDF. Green Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock said the country is longing for a new departure after the years of the grand coalition. Tripartite alliances are “not only easy, but there can also be the momentum to do things really differently”. FDP General Secretary Volker Wissing emphasized: "In the end, you have to agree on a concept that brings added value for the country."

According to "Spiegel" information, the Greens and the FDP agreed on a first meeting on Wednesday.

FDP leader Christian Lindner had suggested on the evening of the election that both parties sit down in advance to explore intersections.

The SPD called on Laschet to refrain from explorations: "Nobody wants Armin Laschet as Chancellor, and I hope that he will realize that in the next few days," said SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil on RTL.

This Tuesday, the new parliamentary groups from the SPD, Union, Greens and Left come together for their first consultations.

At the constituent meeting of the strongly shrunk Union faction, the first course could already be set.

Also on the agenda is the election of the parliamentary group leader, which could cause political explosions.

Laschet announced on Monday that he wanted to propose together with CSU leader Markus Söder that the previous chairman Ralph Brinkhaus (CDU) should be the parliamentary group leader “in the phase of these coalition negotiations”. This caused resentment at Brinkhaus, who, as usual, wanted to be elected for a year. In this case, members of the CDU leadership fear fighting candidates for the post. Background: If Laschet fails to form a Jamaica coalition and the Union ends up in the opposition, the post of group leader would be one of the most powerful in the Union.

Söder said on Monday evening on ARD that the CSU had "very good experiences" with Brinkhaus.

“There are others, but that would be an option,” he said.

There may be a joint proposal from both party leaders.

CDU presidium member Norbert Röttgen pleaded for the faction leadership to be determined later.

The election result must first be discussed before personnel and power policy stakes are immediately taken, he said in the ARD.

Before the election, Laschet had declared that he was going to Berlin “without a return ticket” - even if he did not become Chancellor.

It is expected that he will remain Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia until the constituent session of the Bundestag on October 26th.

The state CDU wants to set the course for the successor by the end of next week.

There are also signs of a personnel renewal at the CDU in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The CDU state chairwoman Julia Klöckner no longer wants to run for the board election on November 20, as she announced on Monday evening.

Klöckner had led the state CDU as the top candidate in the federal election, was defeated in the fight for the direct mandate, but is returning to the Bundestag via the state list.

Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) calls for a personnel debate in the CDU in the event that negotiations with the Greens and FDP fail.

After such an election result, one could not say “Keep it up”, he told the Funke media group.

"But the personnel debate about it should be held when we know that a Jamaica alliance has no chance."

Lower Saxony's CDU boss Althusmann now sees other parties on the move: “The CDU is always ready to take on responsibility.

At the moment, however, it remains to be seen whether there will be a red light in the end ”, he told the“ Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung ”.

Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) recommended a “portion of humility” to his party in the “Rheinische Post”.