Berlin – What do we know about Annegrit Cramp-Carrenbauer, general secretary of the German Democratic Christian Union, who recently, following a Hamburg congress decision, heads the CDU? What policy vis-à-vis Ukraine will be led by the CDU under his leadership in the coming years?
German commentators on television, so as not to utter a complicated long-term policy, began to abbreviate it – ACC – in first three-word letters.
After the fact that in October Angela Merkel ordered the members of a party not to represent the party leader, but wished to remain Chancellor of Germany, the struggle for a key position within the CDU for the first time in many years has become truly competitive. Kramper-Carrenbauer won only the second round, winning 52% of the votes against 48% of his main rival, the conservative Friedrich Merz . Interestingly, during the election campaign, both candidates, among other topics, have repeatedly raised the issue of relations with Ukraine.
"Political Clone" of Chancellor Angela Merkel – "mini Merkel", her "pale shadow", as well as a politician unable to offer anything other than it was still done by his predecessor as leader of the party. It is the opinion of opponents of the CAC, abridged as Annegrint Cramp-Carrenbauer, who believe that she can not become an independent political figure and radically change the CDU. But it is obvious that she will strive to prove the contrary and not only to become "the administrator of Merkel", but also to strengthen the unity of the party which, at the congress, s & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; Is divided almost in half.
The sequence, but also the correction
will help it. declared in a one-party discourse "coherence" in the policy of the CDU and attachment to the ideological foundations established in the bedrock of the word "Christian"? In any case, the CCA faces a difficult task: to restore to the CDU its former popularity and credibility. If she succeeds and the party wins the elections in 2021, she will be able to run as Chancellor of Germany, because Merkel said that she did not intend to rename her candidacy . The new president of the CDU has enough elements to step out of the shadow of Merkel and become an independent leader, implementing not only the "continuity" of the policy, but also proposing solutions to many painful problems for Germany.
Annegrint Cramp-Carrbauer (left) and Angela Merkel
Annegret is a conservative, exemplary Catholic and mother of three children. One of the first steps has already been taken by politicians: it supports the introduction of "female quotas" in the direction of German companies, promotes programs allowing German mothers to combine the education of children with a career. She – a supporter of the ban on abortion – criticized initiatives to legalize same-sex marriages and to promote devotion to traditional family values; She proposed stricter regulation of migration policy.
Position on Ukraine: non-negotiable facts
Although many experts believe that Kramp-Carrenbauer does not deviate from the course of Angela Merkel, she is however more resolute on some issues. as the Chancellor, without going into "sleep" mode. In particular, during a talk show on the German chain ARD devoted to the escalation of the situation in Russia around the Kerch Strait, she strongly condemned the Kremlin's actions against Ukraine without looking for delicate "conclusions".
So there are facts for Kramper-Carrenbauer. , which are not subject to discussion:
The fact remains that Crimea has been illegally annexed by Russia. The fact remains that the separatists are supported by Russia. It remains that 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed
"But the fact remains that Crimea is illegally annexed by Russia.The fact remains that the separatists are supported by Russia.There remains that 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers have perished. The fact is that half of the population of Donbass is forced to flee, which has created a huge humanitarian problem.The fact is that the whole region is in ruins, "said AKC.
She is convinced that, until now, no such condition has been put in place to arrest Vladimir Putin. With regard to climbing in the Kerch Strait, such conditions may be agreed European ports and, possibly, American ports, according to which the ships of the sea ports of Azov can not do it. And also "statements that the sea of Azov is not part of Russian inland waters and should have international access". However, if Kramp-Carrenbauer supports the restrictive policy towards Russia, it has always faded from the answer. A German analyst and political scientist, Stefan Masters, explained that this was understandable because the ACC has not yet its own position on East European politics:
Its position (relating to Ukraine) will depend on advisers, since it has no connection with Ukraine.
"Until now, she has positioned herself as a specialist in purely domestic politics and, in fact, we do not know what position she occupies vis-à-vis the world. We have heard some of his statements, but we are still unable to draw any conclusions about his policy, and he has not yet gone into this further. advisers because it has no connection with Ukraine, that is to say that she still had nothing to associate with this country: nor in foreign policy, nor in a particular connection with Russia or Eastern Europe, "Stefan Masters said.
Germany will have to reckon with …
Tim The advisor of Cramp-Carrenbauer is, for the moment, Niko Lange, former president of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Kiev from 2002 to 2012. Stefan Mister is convinced that "a little more rigorous statements from Ukraine are coming from here" and that we can attribute to them a slightly different view of the North Stream 2 project under construction. The politician believes that Moscow's actions in the Kerch Strait will exacerbate the anxiety and negative attitude of a number of Eastern European countries in the region. with regard to the transit of gas. Germany will still have to take into account the growing opposition to this project:
Due to the current conflict and the actions of the Russian government, especially Vladimir Putin, the political importance of gas transit has increased [19659014] "The political debate on this issue should be carried out within the EU, and this can not be avoided because it is not a purely economic project, because of the ongoing conflict and the actions of the Russian government, especially Vladimir Putin, the political importance of this transit has increased, so we must understand that his actions will lead to the fact that this construction in Europe will be even more questionable than ever before. " this will have an impact on national political discussions in Germany, "said Kramper-Carrenbauer.
"Can we keep our promise to take into account the interests of Ukraine and other European powers in this context?" Said Mr. Kramper-Carrenbauer, stressing that "the EU has the ability to restrict future volumes of Russian gas in European pipelines. "
The new chairman of the ruling party, German, therefore promises consistency in Angela Merkel's policy, while making adjustments: to abandon the ineffective sanctions against Russia, but by creating and these difficult conditions for Vladimir Putin, which made him act according to the norms of international law; do not abandon the "Nord Stream-2", but limit its political scope.
And perhaps not the most important: the fundamental question is the political order. "Are we ready for a long time to accept the violations of human rights?" Kramper-Kerrenbauer raises a question that is of concern to many European politicians and to which they still do not have an unequivocal answer. It is also about the revision of the political order, in particular, that "the foundation of the EU, which we have now, reflects the fact that this should not be a norm. what Putin did, "says ACC. At least in Germany there was a leader who spoke frankly about it
Petro Poroshenko (left) and Annegrint Cramp-Carrenbauer. Combined photo
Meanwhile, many observers are drawing attention to a very symbolic sign: the first election with Annegrit Kramp-Carrenbauer was congratulated by the President of Ukraine by Petro Poroshenko in the chair of the CDU. He expressed the hope to see his personal support to Ukraine in the implementation of reforms to bring it closer to the European Union, to put an end to the Russian aggression and to restore the territorial integrity of the country. For ACC, it was also the first direct communication with the President of Ukraine.
