Matthew Hauser '23 | CDU Elects New Leader

Financial Times

Last month, Germany’s largest political party in the Bundestag, Germany’s legislature, held a vote to decide their new leader. The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands), or CDU, for short, is a center-right, pro-European, German party. The CDU has controlled the government, with Angela Merkel as the Chancellor, since 2005. Chancellor Merkel had previously stepped down from chairing the party and promised not to run for another term in 2021. This election, held virtually among CDU members, was to decide the future of the party, and, quite possibly, the next Chancellor of Germany. 

The Candidates

The election was a contest between three major candidates, who staked different positions on the future and ideology of the CDU. 

Armin Laschet, who ultimately won the election, is a close ally of Chancellor Merkel, and premier of North Rhineland-Westphalia. He is seen as a centrist voice. He chose Jens Spahn as his deputy. Laschet has been criticized for being too friendly to Russia and China, and too moderate to win over conservative voters who have gone to other parties recently. He appears likely to follow a similar policy trajectory to Chancellor Merkel.

Friedrich Merz has been a longtime foe of Angela Merkel. Merz was active in government in the early 2000s and has made past attempts to run for leadership. However, he has spent most of his recent career in the private sector. Merz is considered to represent the conservative wing of the party and has been criticized for being too right-wing to lead the party. 

Norbert Röttgen, former minister for the environment, is the third major candidate. He is pro-European and a supporter of strong German leadership. He greatly values German relationships with France and the United States. However, his political brand was damaged by a defeat in a 2012 regional election and critics have called him “out of touch.” But he is well-liked by older CDU voters and the party’s faithful.

Results

The election was a two-round vote since none of the candidates met the fifty percent threshold in the first round. Ultimately, Armin Laschet emerged as the victor. The results for the three major candidates are listed below:

	Armin Laschet	Friedrich Merz	Norbert Röttgen
Round 1	38.42%	38.93%	22.65% (eliminated)
Round 2	52.79% (victor)	47.21%	N/A

Impact

After a period of turbulence for the party, Laschet will begin to lead the CDU. The party lost seats in the 2017 election  as there was a rise in support for the far-right party, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). Merkel’s hand-picked successor, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer resigned after a scandal with a regional parliament, leaving the CDU’s future in doubt. However, Merkel’s approval rating has skyrocketed to 72% as she is seen as handling the Covid-19 crisis in Germany well. Newly elected Laschet represents both the CDU’s future and a continuation of Merkel’s politics. Having kept Merz out, and with a soaring reputation at home and abroad, Merkel will likely leave with a popular legacy. Can Laschet use that to his advantage come this election? Only time will tell.