Angela Merkel: 12 candidates for succession to the leadership of the CDU

And then the news of the imminent dismissal of Hans-Georg Maaßens at the meeting of the CDU Konrad-Adenauer-Haus is also brilliant.

In the past twelve months, the party's headquarters has held many important meetings: the Jamaican probe, pollster and negotiator GroKo, the fierce champion of internal conflict in the Union. Angela Merkel has always been present as party leader and chancellor – and her star has been sinking every turn, their authority has been stricken more and more. The last scrapes she had at the Hessian national election last Sunday were overlooked, where the local UDC lost more than eleven percentage points.

But the case of the still constitutional protection president, Hans-Georg Maaßen, who spent weeks in September holding the coalition and the country on fire, has done a lot of damage to Merkel. If things would have developed without the causality of Maaus and Merkel then under the pressure of the main friends of the party (read more in the current SPIEGEL) the day after the elections in Hesse, had also declared their renunciation of the presidency party?

Now, the CDU's supervisors are meeting on this dark day of November. Since the afternoon, so be clear on the way to Merkel's estate – and can suddenly read on their smartphones and tablets that Mabaden bid farewell to the news agency by a speech of conspiracy Seehofer himself will no longer be able to cover it.

But there is no turning back. The search for a chair is gaining more and more momentum: twelve candidates are already present Sunday afternoon to follow Merkel at the party congress in Hamburg. Three core candidates have been announced so far, six of them have been added, then three promising candidates: Secretary General Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK), Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn and the former leader of the trade union faction Friedrich Merz.

Should not one be retiring from this trio (which could be Spahn at the moment, as he and Merz have a similar profile in some parts and that there is still time at 38), the delegates of the 1001 CDU will vote in a good month any one of them to the leadership of the party.

AKK and Spahn are at the Adenauer House on Sunday and Monday for the exam. Merz hardly opposes at the table, because he has spent almost ten years in the Political Off and has no CDU-Spitzenamt for the moment.

Merz on the rise – but that does not mean much

It is precisely this which gives it its impetus, it is said, its application is perceived with particular interest because it comes from outside, so to speak. And because Merz, who once wanted to introduce the tax return on the coaster and was synonymous with clear messages, is hailed by her fans as a counter-proposal by Merkel. Kramp-Karrenbauer, for one, must be as invisible as possible in the Adenauer-Haus for reasons of fairness until the party congress as secretary-general. This week, she will officially declare her candidacy.

In the polls, Merz is in the lead – but that does not have much to say, because it is only at the beginning of December that Hamburg will be elected and that it will also vote not the citizens, but the delegates of the CDU . In truth, there is a lot of confusion within the party since the surprise announcement by Merkel that the election outcome is open. For the moment, this is paralyzed by such euphoric phrases as those of party member Thomas Strobl when he says in front of Adenauer-Haus Sunday afternoon: "The CDU is alive."

But feeling alive is also a state of fatigue for a party that has almost always anticipated important personalities in the past. This leads, for example, to the fact that, contrary to what was planned, all the formal questions are not clarified until the end of Sunday evening.

First and foremost, Christian Democrats must agree on a procedure up to Hamburg. Even before retirement, the seven badociations of the CDU – including the Junge union, the women's union and the Christian Democratic Workers' Union (CDA) – had agreed to sit down with the three promising candidates first. to discuss the future cooperation envisaged. speak. This is also part of Merkel's criticism: she has not supported the badociations too much as leader of the party. And then the three candidates must still appear to the seven to introduce themselves.

Clear votes will be rare

It remains to be seen whether the badociations will vote for a vote. Clear votes are likely to be generally rare, even with regard to the state badociations in which party delegates are organized: with the exception of Saarland, where it is already clear to the long-time leader of the CDU. and Prime Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer, it is likely There is hardly a national federation that recommends to its delegates the choice of a person.

Not even the strongest member of North Rhine-Westphalia, who sends two candidates with Spahn and Merz in the race, in which there are also many AKK supporters. One of them could be the country chief Armin Laschet, who, as Merkel's confidant, Kramp-Karrenbauer, belongs to the liberal wing of the CDU. Laschet said Sunday: "I do not believe it, if the national badociations give their own votes".

AKK, Spahn and Merz will have to redouble their efforts to convince the delegates. In addition to the appearances in the badociations, a dozen regional conferences are planned throughout Germany where the candidates present themselves. The question of whether a person among unnamed candidates will be present and how to proceed formally should be clarified Monday morning. Whether it is "the right time" for the three promising candidates, as described by Schleswig-Holstein Prime Minister Daniel Günther in the situation of candidates on Sunday? It will be particularly difficult for them to complete all these appointments in the remaining five weeks.

Especially for the candidate Merz, who has been able to make his life outside of politics much freer in recent years. Does he have the discipline and the touch for this tour in Germany?

Five weeks is not much, but a lot can happen until early December. The race is just beginning.