Armin Laschet should take over chief posts in deputy club

Behind the heavy wooden door on Friedrich-Ebert-Platz, just a few steps from the Reichstag, is one of the most exclusive meeting points in the republic: the “German Parliamentary Society” (DPG). A new board will be elected in the traditional clubhouse on the banks of the Spree-and CDU politician Armin Laschet is to become the new president.

This emerges from internal documents that the star before the general meeting in Berlin on Wednesday. According to this, the most important German MPs’ Association is faced with a change of direction: the previous president, SPD politician Stefan Zierke, is to be replaced. The former CDU chairman and ex-chancellor candidate Laschet should take over.

In the past week, a meeting of the previous board, which consists solely of members of the Bundestag, has been tackled and Laschet chosen across the group as a designated president of the association. In the regular board election on Wednesday, Laschet still has to be confirmed, this is usually a matter of form and was confirmed by three other sources in the DPG area. Most recently, the prominent CDU politician in the Bundestag had already taken over the chair of the Federal Foreign Committee.

The DPG is one of the most elite clubs in the government district: behind it is a private association with around 2,000 members, including around 620 active members of the Bundestag. The cross -faction association is considered an influential network in political Berlin and as a place where politics and senior discussions take place strictly behind closed doors.

Anyone who is the president has an impact on the culture and orientation of the association and indirectly the neighboring Bundestag. The DPG receives millions from parliament every year every year, for the club’s seat in the former Reichstag President Palace on the Spree, for example, the Bundestag does not have to pay rent.

In addition to Laschet, 15 other MPs are to be appointed to the DPG board, including numerous prominent names such as ex-Federal Minister of Education Anja Karliczek (CDU), Konstantin von Notz (Greens) and Dietmar Bartsch (left). The SPD MP Marja-Liisa Völlers (SPD) is also to be elected as vice president. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) is said to take on the role of an assessor.

The DPG general assembly, the central committee of the association, regularly meets on Wednesday evening and will finally decide on the new board, which will then remain an entire legislative period. It is a tradition of the house that after a federal election, the strongest force takes over the presidium.

It is explosive that the AfD has announced that it would make two personal proposals for the Vice Presidium and the Board, but both are likely to fail because of the current majority distribution in the Deputy Association.

If Laschet becomes a club president of the DPG, this could be more than just a change of personnel for the association. Under his leadership, topics such as foreign policy, democratic culture and participation could be focused more on. The question of how the association is supposed to deal with membership applications and admission procedures – especially in the case of controversial cases – should be increased in the future.

The role of the DPG in the government district is often also symbolic: access to networks, informal conversations and events – whoever is their president, significantly shapes how transparent and inclusive this club gets on. Laschet has a high level of awareness and could help increase the external effect and visibility of society.

He did not want to comment on request before the session. The election will take place in the Great Kaisersaal of the DPG, whose renovation costs have gone into millions over the years. The magnificent ambience of the DPG private association was paid significantly by the taxpayer.

The association goes back to the corresponding model in British parliamentarianism, the DPG was founded in Bonn, later moved to Berlin. Well-known members are the long-time CDU politician Heinz Riesenhuber or the SPD politician Johannes Kahrs, whose former management as a treasurer was not undisputed over the years. Because companies and associations can rent for lobby events in club rooms for a fee, the DPG saw itself exposed to some public criticism in previous years.