"I want to become president": Spahn does not even think about giving up

policy

Thursday, November 29, 2018

By Hubertus Volmer, Düsseldorf

Friedrich Merz is as eloquent as ever, but he also looks a bit tired at the CDU's sixth regional conference. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer establishes subtle points. Ironically, the so-called desperate Jens Spahn is totally relaxed.

So much in advance: the regional conference of the CDU in Dusseldorf does not have to tell new stories, but much of what has already been heard in Lübeck, Eisenach and Halle, in Idar -Oberstein and Böblingen. The candidates seem to have arrived a bit in the hamster wheel. Whatever it is, two of them. Friedrich Merz speaks with eloquence and routine as always, but also: as always. Sometimes he looks tired. Once, he promised himself and said that Angela Merkel left "after 13 years the party's command bridge". In fact, 18 years ago, Merkel has been Chancellor for 13 years.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer also runs her well-known program, rhetorically not as well versed as Merz, but with a lot of dedication. Only Jens Spahn has changed. He seems calm, almost free. As he said – as at each of the previous regional conferences – that it's good to talk openly about migration, he got entangled in his sentence. As a reason, he says: "got up too early". In Lübeck he had called his excitement after a slip of the tongue. It's gone. There is no sign of stage fright in Düsseldorf near Spahn. Routine also not.

Düsseldorf is the scene of the sixth regional conference, during which Kramp-Karrenbauer, Merz and Spahn present themselves at the base of the CDU. This is undoubtedly one of the most important of the eight events. From North Rhine-Westphalia come 296 of the 1001 delegates who will vote at the party congress in Hamburg on 7 December, either the new president of the CDU or the new president of the CDU. So many delegates is not another national badociation. It is also the largest regional conference: 4000 party members have come. And this is happening in the homeland of Merz and Spahn, the two candidates of the party's conservative wing, one of whom is celebrated as a messiah and the other as a chance. Or is it different?

Candidates are stealing ideas

As I have said, the members of the CDU do not find much new in the exhibition hall of Düsseldorf, at least not if they took a look at the five other regional conferences on the Internet. Apparently, however, only a few have done so: we even make fun of the jokes told here for the sixth time.

This benefit does not have both candidates and a candidate. They must support each other that it is simply not possible to do so many events and always say something new. Something else has happened for that: they are taking ideas to each other. "Our party really likes the political debate," said Merz, the first to deliver his 10-minute introductory speech. About his time at the Junge Union, he said, "It was not only fun to chat, it was also fun to be with people." Exactly this must be "the message from Hamburg": joy and fun. He took over this Spahn motive.

It is not a one way street. Spahn, who speaks in third position, accuses the Greens of "double standards". It is not possible that they all agreed to the parliament of the State of Düsseldorf "in the forest of Hambacher, including the grubbing up there and which is now chained to trees ". This attack against the eco-party that he has from Merz.

How old are Merz and AKK in 22 years?

It is not a coincidence that the three men are flying each other. The differences of content between them must be searched with a magnifying glbad. These are more or less subtle tips that distinguish them from each other. Spahn describes a Germany of 2040 in which he wants to live. The day before, in Böblingen, he had reported that he was 60 years old. He's been tortured in Düsseldorf. But everyone in the room should have a vague idea of ​​the age of Merz (now 63) and Kramp-Karrenbauer (56).

Kramp-Karrenbauer is the clearest at the top – and usually goes to Merz. Yes, the CDU had to compromise in the past. "All those who govern must do that," she says. "And yes, we have also taken one or the other position, but we do not all Positions taken. "Had already explained Merz – as already the day before at Böblingen – it was necessary" not each This is not the only place where Kramp-Karrenbauer contradicts his main rival: "We do not feel comfortable as a party," she says, probably in response to her She says the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has been "treated" – that is what Merz thinks, then adds, as if it corrected the previous speaker: "This conflict is not so new, but rather it's an old conflict that takes on a new form. "

But these are just small things. If the regional conferences are a reference, the delegates in Hamburg do not choose the content but the style and the image. Here are the differences already clearer. So, all three have a word that marks it. Spahn speaks much more often than others about debates, such is his central concept. He calls for "well-directed debates, which sometimes value the counter-argument, where we think it is knowing what, where the citizens see, who are fighting for a good solution". Kramp-Karrenbauer stressed that she wanted to "work with you, including as president" to reinvigorate the CDU. This "common" has the advantage of representing both debate and leadership. "A fist of iron in a velvet glove" AKK called his style.

Merz's key concept is the "must", which indicates its distance from the previous CDU course. "We must again have a wide range of opinions and beliefs in our ranks, and we need people with liberal, social and conservative beliefs to find a place in the Union – we must give answers for example, to internal security. " More than the other two, Merz makes it clear that he would like to leave the era of Merkel behind, even though he explicitly congratulates the Chancellor and badures her of her loyalty in case of any event. election. In Düsseldorf as well as at other regional conferences, Merz receives the most applause. After his opening speech, there are even standing ovations. However, only about half of the audience. Clearly: Merz has the strongest and most confident fans. They even applaud it for its commitment to the social market economy.

Spahn, allegedly a random candidate, says he does not think about giving up. At the end of the conference in Düsseldorf, he tells a story that he had already made in Böblingen for the better. In Halle, the third leg of the CDU tour, a lady approached him when he left. He was still so young and still had time, they said. His conclusion: "This can be part of the CDU problem if, at age 38, you are still" very young ".

Then comes a sentence that was not retained in Böblingen: "I would like to become President of the CDU, I would like to badume this responsibility". Spahn may be late in the polls. But how did Kramp-Karrenbauer say about the future of the CDU as a popular party? "Forget the polls and start fighting."

Source: n-tv.de