Friedrich Merz did not appear as the “conservative bone” that he is supposed to be, either before or after his election as CDU chairman.
He didn't have to pretend.
The Merz of 2022 is no longer the Merz of the year 2000. The CDU has not remained the party it was before the Merkel era.
The whole world has changed.
New dangers threaten the security, freedom, cohesion and prosperity of Germany.
The CDU will only emerge from the vale of tears if it can once again give the political center of the republic the feeling that the country is in good hands with them.
This confidence and trust had shrunk so much under the late Merkel, Kramp-Karrenbauer and Laschet that the Union ended up in opposition.
The party has given Merz a strong mandate
Convincing the Germans that the CDU is steering a clear course again – that is the Herculean task that Merz is now facing. The party has given its fourth leader a strong “restart” mandate in five years. In terms of personnel, it's done. But now the efforts of programmatic renewal are waiting for the party. It won't be enough just to refer to the different roots of the CDU, as Merkel did. The new leadership team will give face and voice to all currents in the party, but will also have to bring them together in such a way that it will not soon be said that the high level of approval for Merz was just a flash in the pan of unity.
The CDU does not have endless time to discuss.
Even before the three state elections in spring, Merz has to take a few position pegs – also in the question of the parliamentary group chairmanship.
Merz cannot (and does not want) to do without the post of opposition leader in the Bundestag, especially not after this election result.
But Brinkhaus has not yet cleared the field, and the CSU is also pursuing its own interests with all of Söder's oaths of unity.
The first test for the new CDU boss is not long in coming.