• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Will Competition over Merkel’s Succession Divide or Revive her Party?

Matthias Dilling by Matthias Dilling
11/04/18
in Opinion
German Chancellor Angela Merkel waves during an election campaign event of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in Dortmund, western Germany, on August 12, 2017

Angela Merkel announced she will quit as German chancellor when her mandate ends in 2021. Photo: Patrik Stollarz, AFP

10
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

As a German saying goes, “competition is good for business.” This also applies to the competition that has started emerging around who will be replacing Angela Merkel as leader of her Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) in December, and thereby get on the radar for a bid to lead the next German government.

Angela Merkel’s announcement to not seek re-election as the leader of her party and as head of the German government has yielded two types of reactions common to moments of replacing a long-standing political leader.

On the one hand, every end entails the charm of a new beginning. There is the excited anticipation of change following a period that is often characterized by a lack of initiative and the refusal to leave the all too familiar paths of the past. Observers of German politics are reminded of the final years of Helmut Kohl’s era, which then Federal President Roman Herzog captured so eloquently in his urge that there must be “a jolt going through Germany.”

On the other hand, there is always uncertainty. What comes next? Will the party that seemed to have lost its ability to argue after 18 years under Merkel be able to contain this sudden outburst of competition? Or will the CDU end like many other of its European sister parties – deeply divided over the direction of reform?

CDU’s Ideological Traditions

The party does well in fully embracing the competition around finding a new party leader because it allows re-sharpening its profile along the three ideological lines that have been key to its long-standing dominance in German politics: social Catholicism, economic liberalism, and social conservatism.

The CDU emerged as a cross-class party after Germany’s defeat in World War II. It integrated a breadth of very different social groups, ranging from members of the Catholic working-class and trade unionist movement to the liberal middle-class and conservative Protestants.

It succeeded in fighting off the rise of centrist and right-wing rivals in the 1950s by developing an internal bargaining system that allowed its Catholic, liberal, and conservative pillar to shine. Allowing them to make their voice heard during moments of intra-party reform helped the party to get through difficult times in the 1970s and late 1990s.

Indeed, it is often forgotten that Merkel’s own rise to power in the early 2000s relied on mediating between these different groups – an ability she seemed to have increasingly lost in recent years.

The upcoming leadership contest between candidates representing each of these traditions can be an important step toward the re-establishment of this “politics of mediation” – a term Professor Kees van Kersbergen once coined to describe the integrative nature of European Christian Democracy.

Who will Succeed Merkel?

Contenders Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Friedrich Merz, and Jens Spahn each represent one of the three ideological traditions of the CDU.

Party secretary Kramp-Karrenbauer, while defending slightly more socially conservative positions than Merkel, is the candidate of the centrist and social-Catholic wing of the party – especially after Armin Laschet, currently governor of Germany’s largest state and a leading figure of the party’s social-Catholic wing, has declared not to run.

Merkel stepping down as CDU leader following losses in Hesse election; Friedrich Merz who had left politics after losing the power struggle in the CDU against Merkel in the early 2000s has thrown his hat in the ring. #cdu #ltwhe2018 #ltwHE
https://t.co/mCmy8K5qWx via @faznet

— Matthias Dilling (@MatthiasDilling) October 29, 2018

For many in the CDU, Merz is the symbol of the “good old days” when the rather market-liberal Leipzig manifesto was passed in 2003.

In turn, Spahn, minister of health in Merkel’s cabinet, seems to have tuned down his previous focus on market-liberal positions and has been enjoying himself in the role of the party’s conservative hopeful.

CDU’s Future

Whoever wins will not be able to radically shift the party’s platform. The CDU is a complex organization with internal checks and balances that have proven effective in avoiding the long-term dominance of a single ideological wing.

However, this does not mean that nothing will change. This leadership contest has the potential to importantly revive Germany’s last remaining people’s party, the Volkspartei. This will not be done by shifting the party’s program to the social-conservative or economic left or right. Instead, it will require appreciating the diversity of opinions within the party that has often represented a wide range of the German public.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
Share10Tweet
Matthias Dilling

Matthias Dilling

Departmental Lecturer in Comparative Politics at Oxford University’s Department of Politics and International Relations. He has published on the German CDU and is currently completing a book manuscript on Christian democratic parties in Western Europe

Related Posts

Heavily armed police inspect the area near a Jehovah's Witness church where several people have been killed in a shooting in Hamburg, northern Germany
World

Eight Dead in Shooting at Jehovah’s Witness Hall in Germany

by Staff Writer
March 10, 2023
Mario Draghi
Business

EU Leaders Clash Over How to Tackle Energy Prices

by Staff Writer
October 20, 2022
Arne Schoenbohm
World

German Cybersecurity Chief Sacked Over Alleged Russia Ties

by Staff Writer
October 18, 2022
Olaf Scholz
Business

Germany Defends Massive Energy Plan Against EU Critics

by Staff Writer
October 4, 2022
German police
World

Woman Dies After Stabbing on German University Campus

by Staff Writer
June 13, 2022
Volkswagen logo
Environment

German Farmer Sues Volkswagen Over CO2 Emissions

by Staff Writer
May 20, 2022
Next Post
Protesters denounced US President Donald Trump's visit to the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, where 11 people were shot dead during Shabbat services

Pittsburgh Rampage: Act of Terrorism Inspired by Ideology of Trumpism

Paul Biya

79 School Pupils Abducted in Restive Anglophone Cameroon

Recommended

Damage from a series of powerful storms and at least one tornado is seen on March 25, 2023, in Rolling Fork, Mississippi

After Tornado Kills 25, Mississippi Faces More Extreme Weather

March 26, 2023
Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
participants of an artificial intelligence conference

How AI Could Upend the World Even More Than Electricity or the Internet

March 19, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
Heavily armed police inspect the area near a Jehovah's Witness church where several people have been killed in a shooting in Hamburg, northern Germany

Eight Dead in Shooting at Jehovah’s Witness Hall in Germany

March 10, 2023
Myanmar Rohingya refugees look on in a refugee camp in Teknaf, in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, on November 26, 2016

US Announces $26M in New Aid for Rohingya

March 8, 2023

Opinion

Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
An earthquake survivor reacts as rescuers look for victims and other survivors in Hatay, a Turkish province where hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake

Heed the Call of Our Broken World

March 1, 2023
Top view of the US House of Representatives

‘Cringy Awards:’ Who Is the Most Embarrassing US House Representative?

February 13, 2023
Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023

How Do Violent ‘Monsters’ Take Root?

February 3, 2023
George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post