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Who will be the Union’s candidate for chancellor? Secretary General Carsten Linnemann speaks in star clearly in favor of Friedrich Merz – and also warns his party against a break with Angela Merkel.
In the debate about the Union’s candidacy for chancellor, CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann is clearly backing the party leader Friedrich Merz. “Friedrich Merz has a plan. The Chancellor doesn’t have one,” Linnemann told the star. “Especially in a crisis, you have to know where the journey should go, how to hold this country together and lead it forward. Friedrich Merz is the man with the plan. Sounds like a good election campaign slogan, doesn’t it?” When asked what he would say to Merz if he asked him for advice about running for chancellor, Linnemann replied: “Friedrich, you have to do it.”
Contrary to what some CDU state chairmen demanded, sees Linnemann the decision lies solely in the hands of the party leader. “He has to make the decision for himself whether to run. It’s a very personal matter. Nobody can help you with that. You can maybe ask ten people, but in the end you have to want it yourself.”
“She shaped us”
Linnemann also warned his party against a break with Angela Merkel and expressed the hope of being able to use the former Chancellor as a supporter in the upcoming federal election campaign. “I think it’s important that we don’t break with the past. That would be wrong. We’re just living in a different time now,” said Linnemann. “She belongs to the CDU like our other four Chancellors. She shaped us. Under her this country was well governed. Of course, mistakes were made.” The important thing is to learn from mistakes.
“Of course” he hopes for their help in the fight to retake the Chancellery. “We met a few months ago and had a lengthy conversation. The content remains confidential. But I can’t see that she no longer wants to support the CDU.”
Read the entire interview with CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann on the K question and the reconstruction of his party in the next issue of stern.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
