Germany: for the first time, the president of the CDU will be elected directly by the activists

The headquarters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), in Berlin, November 2, 2021. dpa / picture alliance via Getty I - picture alliance

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

A little more than five weeks after the general elections, the losers, Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, are preparing to elect a new leadership.

Their candidate for the chancellery Armin Laschet withdraws.

For the first time, it is the base which will appoint the new president of the CDU.

The party presented the schedule for this primary today.

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With our correspondent in Berlin, 

Four leaders in just over three years.

Christian Democrats accustomed to continuity - Angela Merkel chaired the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) for 18 years - will once again seek a new direction.

This time, the party innovates by organizing for the first time a consultation of its 400,000 members.

A meeting last weekend of section secretaries pleaded for this solution which should help strengthen the legitimacy of the new management.

The defending champion Armin Laschet, elected last January, is bowing out after the historic failure suffered by his party in the September elections.

Several names are circulating

Candidates will be able to declare themselves from Saturday before presenting themselves to the members of the movement.

Two rounds of voting will undoubtedly be necessary to decide between them.

The result, known in mid-January, will still have to be ratified by a congress. 

Several names are already circulating.

Half a dozen politicians, all from the North Rhine-Westphalia region, could declare themselves.

The grassroots favorite is the curator Friedrich Merz, who has twice lost - at the end of 2018 and at the start of the year - by a narrow margin.

An election by CDU members could benefit him.

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The Christian Democrats, soon in opposition, will have to recharge their batteries after their severe failure.

The deadlines will be tight for the new leadership before three regional ones in the spring in Länder that the CDU leads and where the party is threatened. 

Meanwhile, in Berlin, the German political landscape is taking shape.

A new coalition led by Social Democrat

with environmentalists and liberals is currently negotiating a government program.

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