Amthor is planning a comeback as CDU general secretary in Mecklenburg

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CDU Bundestag member Philipp Amthor: Nominated for the office of Secretary General

Photo: BildFunkMV / IMAGO

A lobby affair uncovered by SPIEGEL, then a lost direct mandate in 2021: Although he moved back into the Bundestag via the state list, Philipp Amthor's days as a young star in the CDU seemed to be over. Now, contrary to previous announcements, the 31-year-old is to have a more important role in the CDU of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the future.

The designated state party leader Daniel Peters announced on Wednesday in Schwerin that he would propose Amthor for the office of general secretary. Peters, currently serving as general secretary of the Northeast CDU, will run for state chairmanship at the state party conference on April 13 in Rostock.

After the surprising announcement of the resignation of the previous party leader Franz-Robert Liskow at the beginning of this year, Amthor was again considered a possible candidate for the top office. But the 31-year-old from Ueckermünde rejected this on the grounds that he currently sees his political place in federal politics. As the new Secretary General, Amthor would intervene in state politics much more than before. Peters had recently repeatedly used this office for violent verbal attacks against the red-red coalition led by Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD).

Four CDU state leaders in four years

There is currently no opposing candidate to Peters as the new state party leader. The 42-year-old from Rostock had emphasized that he wanted to lead the party in the long term and thus end the ongoing leadership crisis. According to his own statements, he is also available as the top candidate for the 2026 state elections. Peters would be the fourth CDU state leader in just over four years. In the 2021 state election, the state party, which has almost 4,500 members, achieved its worst result to date with 13.3 percent. This makes it only the third strongest force in parliament, behind the SPD and AfD.

Amthor stumbled upon an affair involving the company Augustus Intelligence in spring 2020. He had campaigned politically for the company, although at the same time he sat on the board of directors of Augustus Intelligence and held shares. After the revelations, Amthor left the supervisory board and decided not to run for the CDU chairmanship in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the company filed for bankruptcy and the Bundestag passed a stricter lobbying law.

mrc/dpa