{"id":108372,"date":"2021-01-14T08:08:24","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T08:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=108372"},"modified":"2021-01-14T08:08:24","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T08:08:24","slug":"analysis-kingmaker-manoeuvres-behind-the-men-vying-to-succeed-germanys-merkel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/analysis-kingmaker-manoeuvres-behind-the-men-vying-to-succeed-germanys-merkel\/","title":{"rendered":"Analysis: Kingmaker manoeuvres behind the men vying to succeed Germany's Merkel"},"content":{"rendered":"

BERLIN (Reuters) – The conservative leader favoured by German voters isn\u2019t even running in this week\u2019s contest to head up Angela Merkel\u2019s party, but he aims to play a pivotal role in determining its candidate to succeed her as chancellor, party sources say.<\/p>

FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a session at the lower house of parliament Bundestag on the start of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccinations, in Berlin, Germany, January 13, 2021. REUTERS\/Michele Tantussi<\/figcaption>

He may even take on that role himself if the eventual winner of the imminent party vote to replace her flops, according to the sources inside the governing conservative alliance.<\/p>\n

Merkel, who steps down after federal elections in September, is heading into the last months of her tenure with her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) squabbling over how to position the party following 15 years of rule marked by her instinct to compromise.<\/p>\n

The CDU elects a new chairman on Saturday, but none of the three contenders impresses voters, leaving the party wondering how best to replace Merkel, a proven election winner who has become Europe\u2019s predominant leader since taking office in 2005.<\/p>\n

Centrist Armin Laschet, arch-conservative Friedrich Merz and foreign policy expert Norbert Roettgen are battling it out.<\/p>\n

Merkel said last year Laschet, 59, had \u201cthe tools\u201d to lead Europe\u2019s biggest economy and most populous country, but voters find him uninspiring.<\/p>\n

Enter Markus Soeder. The burly, confident leader of the CDU\u2019s Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), is voters\u2019 choice conservative. He senses a unique chance to assert himself as a unifier, or else as chancellor candidate.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoeder will either play the role of king, or of kingmaker,\u201d a CDU Executive Committee member told Reuters.<\/p>\n

The three declared CDU candidates all differ from Merkel.<\/p>\n

Roettgen, 55, the eloquent chairman of parliament\u2019s foreign affairs committee, wants Germany to take a firmer stance with Russia and China. Merz, 65, has targeted European Central Bank policy and is less diplomatic. Laschet, who has polished his international profile, complains Berlin has taken \u201ctoo long to react\u201d to French calls for European Union reform.<\/p>\n

Soeder, 54, Bavaria\u2019s premier, is a political chameleon who has shifted from the right towards the moderate centre of late, though remains an unknown on foreign policy.<\/p>\n

He plays coy about his ambitions – \u201cMy place is in Bavaria\u201d has been his repeated refrain.<\/p>\n

But the Bavarian\u2019s lieutenants are already manoeuvring for the CDU\/CSU alliance, the \u201cUnion\u201d, to pick the chancellor candidate most likely to win September\u2019s election, rather than simply default to the CDU party leader, as is traditional.<\/p>\n

\u201cA personnel decision will have to be based on this (criteria), regardless of who becomes the new CDU leader on Jan. 16,\u201d Alexander Dobrindt, the CSU\u2019s leader in the Bundestag (lower house of parliament), told a CSU gathering last week.<\/p>\n

BAVARIAN SWAGGER<\/h2>\n

Whether Soeder decides to run for chancellor, or simply plays a role in determining who will, his swagger promises to embolden conservatives tired of Merkel\u2019s centrist compromises – even if he cannot match her pedigree on foreign affairs.<\/p>\n

After making his mark with a barnstorming speech at the CDU\u2019s 2019 congress, Soeder has cosied up to the environmentalist Greens – the Union\u2019s likely next coalition partner – and presented himself as a strong manager of the coronaries pandemic at regular news conferences alongside Merkel at which he has represented Germany\u2019s states.<\/p>\n

He also projects charm that appeals to Germans beyond his native Bavaria.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoeder is a very savvy politician, but rather a novice when it comes to EU affairs and international politics,\u201d said Nazi Masraff, analyst at the Eurasia Group consultancy.<\/p>\n

To be sure, no German chancellor has ever come from the CSU, although Franz Josef Strauss and Edmund Stoiber of the CSU were the Union candidates in the 1980 and 2002 federal elections, respectively, which were both won by the Social Democrats.<\/p>\n

This time though, Soeder\u2019s hand is strengthened by deep divisions between the three CDU men – all from the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia – coveting the votes of 1,001 party delegates who will pick a winner at Saturday\u2019s digital meeting.<\/p>\n

Laschet and Roettgen\u2019s supporters aim to stop Merz, who wants to shift the CDU to the right. Last year, Merz stoked party divisions by saying elements of the CDU establishment didn\u2019t want him to get the job.<\/p>\n

A survey by pollster Civey for newsmagazine Der Spiegel late last month showed that if all Germans could vote, Roettgen, who is pitching himself as a moderniser, would be the CDU chairman and Soeder chancellor.<\/p>\n

Roettgen has hinted at such a possibility. Last September, he said a CDU leader must \u201cbe humble enough to do what is best for the party\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Spiegel poll showed voters favoured Roettgen for the CDU leadership, with 31.7% support, followed by Merz on 28.8% and Laschet on 11.8%. However, Laschet controls the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia, which provides 298 of the 1,001 delegates.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the CDU congress, senior conservatives Ralph Brinkhaus and Wolfgang Schaeuble have both said the chancellor candidate does not have to be the new CDU chief – potentially opening the way for popular Health Minister Jens Spahn.<\/p>\n

Asked on Wednesday whether he would run as a candidate for chancellor, Spahn, who is backing Laschet for party chairman, told Deutschlandfunk radio: \u201cAs of today, I rule that out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soeder has also signalled his support for Laschet, praising his experience and coalition-building abilities.<\/p>\n

Serap Gueler, a CDU delegate and Laschet ally who plans to vote for him, called him \u201ca man of conviction\u201d but added: \u201cI think his weakness is maybe … that he tries to explain certain things to the last comma, and that can make them complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soeder wants to give the new CDU leader time to win over voters and, with his help, unite the party – or else unravel. He has called for the Union to decide on its chancellor candidate only after state elections in mid-March.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he feels that the CDU leader has a real chance, he will tend to play the kingmaker,\u201d said senior CSU lawmaker Hans Michelbach. \u201cBut if he concludes the CDU leader doesn\u2019t cut it, then things are different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BERLIN (Reuters) – The conservative leader favoured<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":108371,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23054],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAnalysis: Kingmaker manoeuvres behind the men vying to succeed Germany's Merkel - Pre Coin News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/analysis-kingmaker-manoeuvres-behind-the-men-vying-to-succeed-germanys-merkel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Analysis: Kingmaker manoeuvres behind the men vying to succeed Germany's Merkel - Pre Coin News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BERLIN (Reuters) – The conservative leader favoured\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/analysis-kingmaker-manoeuvres-behind-the-men-vying-to-succeed-germanys-merkel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pre Coin News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-14T08:08:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/cnewsfotor27-6.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/analysis-kingmaker-manoeuvres-behind-the-men-vying-to-succeed-germanys-merkel\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/analysis-kingmaker-manoeuvres-behind-the-men-vying-to-succeed-germanys-merkel\/\",\"name\":\"Analysis: Kingmaker manoeuvres behind the men vying to succeed Germany's Merkel - 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