The crisis grows in Merkel’s party after defeat in the elections in Germany

The Conservative Party of Angela Merkel gets into a crisis with calls for the resignation of its president, Armin Laschet, after the debacle in the legislative elections, which further complicates the efforts to claim to form the future government.

Leader of the Christian Democrats, who reached their all-time low since 1949 with a result of less than 30% of the vote, Laschet does not agree to admit defeat and renounce the succession of Merkel at the chancery.

“We are ready to start negotiations to create a coalition” with the Greens and the Liberals of the FDP, third and fourth in the consultation, respectively, launched the unpopular politician, he said.

The former journalist converted to president of the most populated region of Germany he knows full well that his career would be stagnant if he admits defeat.

“Final point”

Laschet believes that he can form a government if the Social Democrats, who narrowly surpassed the conservative alliance on Sunday, do not reach an agreement with the environmentalists and especially with the liberals, a right-wing party with a program far removed from that of the former.

But since Sunday Laschet sees his hosts turn against him.

“Who can make Armin Laschet understand what is finished? The indifference with which he tries to hide his political failure is very worrying”, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper was concerned on Tuesday.

It is likely that the first meeting of the conservative group in the Bundestag, this Tuesday afternoon, it becomes a kind of court that judges who embodies the erosion of a bloc that lost 9 points since the previous elections, in 2017. A result that was already considered disappointing then.

Michael Kretschmer, minister-president of the land (state) of Saxony, was the one who opened the hostilities: “The voters have clearly told us ‘that the CDU is not the first option.’ Acting as if nothing had happened would lead us to ruin”, the leader of this territory who was part of the former RDA warned, where it was defeated on Sunday by the extreme right.

“I don’t think we can pretend to lead the next government,” added another party ‘baron’, Norbert Röttgen.

“We lost. Final point!” Echoed CDU youth leader Thilman Kuban.

Faced with this domestic rebellion, Laschet was forced to make promises, admitting that the CDU, one of the oldest European parties, in power for the last 16 years, “needs a renovation” at all levels.

His speech regarding the future coalition has also changed slightly. Laschet now limits itself to stating that “no party has a clear mandate to form a government,” both the CDU like the social democrats of SPD.

Clumsy candidate

But these interpretations have not been sufficient to lessen the pressure on Laschet conversely.

Even one of its main supporters within the party, the experienced leader of the state of Hesse, Volker Bouffier, abandoned his ward, recognizing that the conservative union cannot “pretend to take responsibility for the government.”

Another regional leader close to Laschet, Daniel Günther also distanced himself from a clumsy candidate who was not a “trump card” during the campaign.

Grassroots MPs have directly demanded the resignation of Laschet, responsible for a failed campaign, despite Merkel’s participation in the final stretch.

“I would have liked an awareness. You have lost, show your discernment, avoid further damage to the CDU and resign”, urged the young MP from Rhineland-Palatinate, Ellen Demuth.

German public opinion seems to have decided, without great detours. 58% of citizens believe that the CDU-CSU does not have “legitimacy” to form a next government, according to an INsa poll for the popular daily Bild.

Laschet seems to concentrate all the doubts and discontent on his person: 51% of the supporters of the Conservatives want him to resign as president of the party less than a year after being elected.