According to Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus, the new CDU leader does not automatically lead the party into the upcoming federal election.

"In the current election of the CDU chairman, there is no preliminary decision about the next candidate for chancellor," said the chairman of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group in the newspapers of the Funke media group, according to the preliminary report on Sunday.

When asked which of the three candidates Friedrich Merz, Norbert Röttgen or Helge Braun he endorsed as the new CDU chairman, Brinkhaus said: "All three are members of my parliamentary group, I can work well with each of them."

Brinkhaus: Developing a better process

Brinkhaus called for a new process to determine the Union's next candidate for chancellor.

"The party committees have the task of developing a process that is more sustainable than the showdown in March this year."

The CDU politician did not want to decide whether he would support a member survey, such as the election of the next CDU chairman, or a vote in the Union parliamentary group.

"The CDU and CSU will have to decide together."

The CDU foreign politician Norbert Röttgen, who is applying for the CDU chairmanship, was more specific. In the future, he wants the members of the CDU and CSU to decide on the Union's candidacy for chancellor if there are several candidates. "We have to learn from past mistakes," said Röttgen of the newspaper "Rheinische Post". “I therefore want the Union parties' next candidate for chancellor to be decided jointly between the CDU and the CSU: Who is the right person to win the election? If there are then two candidates again, the members of the CDU and CSU should decide who will. ”Röttgen had already made a similar statement this week on the television station Phoenix.

CDU boss Armin Laschet and CSU boss Markus Söder had fought a power struggle for the Union's candidacy for chancellor, which Laschet won.

During the election campaign there were repeated critical tones from the CSU in the direction of the CDU boss.

The Union achieved a historically poor result in the federal election.

The CDU now wants to re-elect the entire federal executive board.

In addition to Röttgen, the executive head of the Chancellery, Helge Braun, and the former Union parliamentary group leader, Friedrich Merz, are applying to succeed Laschet as CDU leader.

Röttgen and Merz ran for chairmanship at the beginning of the year and lost to Laschet at a party congress.

Vote by December 16

For the first time, the approximately 400,000 CDU members are to make a preliminary decision on the future chairman in a survey that started this Saturday. The CDU members can vote online or by postal vote until December 16, the result should be presented the day after. If a second round of voting is required, it will start on December 29th and will last until January 12th. The final decision should then be made by the 1001 delegates at a digital party congress on 21./22. January meet. The choice must then be confirmed by postal vote.

Brinkhaus appealed to the Union to position itself broadly and to keep the party and parliamentary group chairmanship separate.

At the same time, he was optimistic that he would remain at the head of the group beyond his current term of six months.

"First of all, it is the CDU / CSU parliamentary group that elects its chairman from among its own ranks." In addition, one should not put everything on one person.

At a joint introduction of the three presidential candidates on Wednesday, many similarities became clear.

All three argued, for example, that the Union should involve more people with a migration background and become more attractive for women.

There was also a lot of agreement on the fight against the corona pandemic, climate and foreign policy.

At the weekend it became known that the Baden-Württemberg CDU had nominated its climate expert Andreas Jung, who is also the CDU / CSU parliamentary deputy in the Bundestag, as the new vice-chairman in place of Thomas Strobl.