There is almost nothing standing in the way of CDU leader Friedrich Merz’s candidacy for chancellor. Hendrik Wüst from North Rhine-Westphalia, who is also being considered, officially withdrew from the race on Monday evening. After a meeting of his CDU state executive committee in Düsseldorf, he declared that he was “not available” to lead the Union parties into next year’s federal election: “My tasks lie here in North Rhine-Westphalia.”
Desert linked his resignation to support for the candidacy of Sauerlander Merzwho can rely on his home association. The federal chairman, who has been in office since the beginning of 2022, has given the CDU the “programmatic tools” to regain government responsibility. To do this, however, the party must also act as one, which his decision should contribute to: “Only with a strong and united CDU will it be possible to replace the traffic light coalition.”
Hopefully Markus Söder will follow suit soon so that we can focus on the content.
Dennis RadtkeChairman of the CDU workers’ wing
With the announcement on Monday evening Pressure on CSU leader increases Markus Söder, to support Merz’s candidacy. “The CDU is now clearly positioned,” said Dennis Radtke, the newly elected Chair of the Employees’ Wingthe “Tagesspiegel”: “Hopefully Markus Söder will follow suit soon so that we can focus on the content.” Wüst also publicly wished for support for Merz from the Bavarian sister party
“High sense of responsibility”
Party leader Merz did not initially react to Wüst’s announcement. Thorsten Frei, Merz’s right-hand man in the Bundestag faction as parliamentary manager, spoke of “great respect” for the decision. The fact that Wüst “relies on unity shows his high sense of responsibility,” Frei told the Tagesspiegel: “Not least the bad experiences from the 2021 election campaign have shown us all that an election victory can only be achieved together.” A power struggle on the open stage must not be repeated.
The 49-year-old Wüst, whose North Rhine-Westphalian CDU is currently polling at 40 percent and only last week quietly passed a security package with his Green coalition partner, once again promoted his political style and a CDU oriented towards the political center. “Let’s stick to our secret of success,” he said, referring to the years as chancellors of Helmut Kohl and Angela Merkel.
Wüst does it differently than Hannelore Kraft
He also made it clear that as Prime Minister of the most populous federal state, he must always be ready to take responsibility for the whole of Germany. The support from the party, but also from citizens and the business world, said Wüst, “has not left him untouched.”
Unlike his Social Democratic predecessor Hannelore Kraft, whose resignation was once interpreted as a sign of weakness in her own state, the CDU politician did not rule out federal political ambitions forever. “A prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia is always a possible candidate for chancellor,” said the 49-year-old: “You should never say never.”
