German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), held a party congress on the 16th and elected Armin Laschet, the prime minister of the largest state of North Rhine-Westphalia, as its new party chairman. He is expected to continue the party’s right-of-center line and has a chance to run for the prime ministership in September this year. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal quoted party executives as saying that Germany is unlikely to join U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s anti-China coalition, regardless of who leads the CDU, as Germany remains generally friendly to China.
No matter who is in power, they will not fight against China
The Guardian pointed out that after the resignation of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the election of the CDU leader was postponed twice due to the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic, and there was no leader for 11 months. He defeated Merkel’s arch-rival, Friedrich Merz, who vowed to lead the party to the right. The other liberal candidate, parliamentary foreign affairs committee chairman Norbert Röttgen, was defeated in the first round of voting.
Merkel, who announced the previous year that she would not seek a fifth term as chancellor, politely hinted at supporting Rachet’s candidacy long before this vote, arguing that his moderate stance would avoid conflict and unite the party, and that Rachet “has the conditions to become chancellor”. The German Federal Parliament will be re-elected on September 26, when the CDU and its sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), will choose a candidate for chancellor. Due to the excellent results of Merkel’s government in fighting against the epidemic, the CDU/CSU has a stable lead in the polls and will have a great say even if Rachet does not run in the end.
Meanwhile, CDU President and Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder and CDU health Minister Jens Spahn are both seen as potential candidates for chancellor. Soeder’s popularity rating is higher than the three candidates in the CDU party leadership election.
According to AFP, Rachet is a defender of multiculturalism and has positioned himself as the heir to the “Merkel line” during his campaign for the party presidency, and is even considered more determined than Merkel in terms of immigration policy, emphasizing the benefits of immigration to German society and economy. The South German daily pointed out that although Rachet is good at uniting groups, he has also been criticized for being indecisive and acting impulsively, and was accused of loosening the blockade in North Rhine-Westphalia last spring, which led to a massive outbreak of an epidemic in a slaughterhouse.
U.S. and Germany go their separate ways on China-related issues
The Wall Street Journal further reported that a senior CDU official pointed out that despite Germany’s closer proximity to the U.S., Germany cannot decouple itself from China, “We are an export-oriented country and it is important to keep all the channels open. The report also mentioned that although the U.S. administration of President-elect Joe Biden has hinted at its intention to repair relations with European countries, several CDU officials have indicated that the U.S. and Germany will continue to go their own way when it comes to China.
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