Armin Laschet at the 31st party conference of the CDU in Germany in Hamburg , Messe Hamburg. Image: Olaf Kosinsky (kosinsky.eu) License: CC BY-SA 3.0-de [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2018-12-07_Armin_Laschet_CDU_Pateitag_in_Hamburg-2494.jpg]
Armin Laschet to lead Angela Merkel’s CDU as new chairman
The Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous of the 16 states of Germany, Armin Laschet was elected as the new CDU chairman at the digital CDU party conference on Saturday. In the runoff election he prevailed with 521 votes against his toughest competitor Friedrich Merz (466 votes). In a nutshell, the party establishment pushed through its candidate, while the voter's candidate failed.
Published: January 18, 2021, 9:35 am
Armin Laschet replaces as chair of the party Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and takes over a party that has been completely gutted in terms of content. “Good luck with what you plan to do now,” were the eloquent words of the loser to the winner. Merz won the first round of voting, with 385 votes to Laschet’s 380 and Norbert Röttgen’s 224. The undoubtedly great disappointment among those CDU members and supporters who had relied on Merz, could lead to split-offs and the establishment of a new party, which could form a kind of traditional CDU together with a Meuthen faction in the AfD.
The third candidate Norbert Röttgen received the fewest votes in the first round, but managed to split the vote for Merz to the advantage of Laschet. For the AfD, the election of Laschet nine months before the general election is good news however. The agricultural policy spokesman for the AfD parliamentary group, Stephan Protschka, member of the federal executive committee, told PI-NEWS: “With Armin Laschet, the Union is now moving even further to the left and clearing the way for a government with the Greens. The Union has thus failed to become a real conservative party again. That is why the AfD is now more important than ever before.”
The chairman of the AfD parliamentary group in North Rhine-Westphalia, Markus Wagner, wrote in a press release: “With the election of Armin Laschet as the new chairman and thus traditionally designated candidate for chancellor, the CDU has sent an important political signal: Angela Merkel will continue to remain chancellor, but from 2021 possibly in the form of a friendly smiling emissary with no real creative power or even ideas.”
Wagner added: “After all, Friedrich Merz himself gave the impression of being a beacon of hope for the economy and conservative values, but the CDU gave up on this claim many years ago and with this election has once again made it clear that it has no prospects for the future of our country.”
The AfD member of the Bundestag Dr. Roland Hartwig commented on Facebook about the election of Laschet: “What does that mean for us as an alternative for Germany?” Hartwig listed the consequences for his party:
“1. For the foreseeable future, we will be the only conservative force that wants to keep Germany as a nation-state!
2. The CDU will seamlessly continue the political and economic decline of our country under Merkel!
3. From autumn in Germany will have to endure a black-green government!
4. Unity and the awareness of historical responsibility for our country and our people are the order of the day.”
EU MP Maximilian Krah noted on Twitter: “Armin Laschet is exactly the chairman that the CDU deserves and the AfD needs!What must actually happen before ‘bourgeois conservatives’ understand that the CDU will not return to the pre-Merkel party? This party will never be conservative again. Anyone who wants conservative politics has to support the AfD, everything else is nonsense!”
Everything thus went as expected for the Chancellor, since the majority of the CDU delegates made the decision that Merkel, the mainstream media outlet FAZ and the Greens wanted, namely Armin Laschet. In addition, the AfD may be relieved that Friedrich Merz did not manage to get the hoped-for starting position for the candidacy in his second attempt. Laschet, however still has other contenders in the fight for the top position in Germany. Both Health Minister Jens Spahn and Corona profiteer, the Minister President of Bavaria Markus Söder will see the election of the North Rhine-Westphalian Minister President as a good chance to become a candidate for Chancellor themselves.
The repeated failure of Merz also removes the very last illusions of those who still hoped for a somewhat more conservative turnaround by the CDU. Laschet, on the other hand, is the surest guarantee that Merkel’s left-wing course will continue. And it is precisely this course that the majority of delegates supported by electing Laschet. When Merkel faced strong opposition from her party with hundreds of thousands of migrants arriving in Germany in 2015, Laschet remained a faithful ally. The leftist media will certainly applaud that and the power-hungry Söder will no doubt exploit that.
For the conservatives in Germany one thing is clear: With Laschet at the top of the CDU, things are clearly heading in the direction of a coalition with the Greens. Laschet is known for his liberal views and maintained good relations with the immigrant community, earning him the nickname “Turkish Armin”. In 2009 Laschet published the non-fiction book The Rising Republic. Immigration as an opportunity , with the assistance of ministry staff. He donated the fee and claimed the donation in his tax return without specifying the fee as income.
In 2015 Laschet was forced to give up his teaching position at the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, after some students received a grade although they had not even taken the exam. The exam, corrected by Laschet “got lost in the mail” and he “reconstructed” the grades based on his notes, he claimed but the institution rejected the obvious falsehood and his credibility in the academic education sector was shaken by the scandal.
Despite that, the Union of Progressive Jews in Germany (UpJ) awarded him the Israel Jacobson Prize, honoring his services to liberal Judaism and the strengthening of Jewish life in North Rhine-Westphalia in March 2020.
All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.
Consider donating to support our work
Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.
Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.
If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.
If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.
We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.
Europe
NOAA Predicts Zero Sunspots for Almost the Whole 2030s
CLIMATEThe United States' government scientific organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), predicts zero sunspots from 2031 to 2040. This is an extreme situation that has not occurred in as long as humanity has been counting sunspots, and it leads us into uncharted territory in terms of our solar system. However, this prediction aligns with the warnings of the world-renowned solar researcher Valentina Zharkova for many years, who indicated in 2019 various signs of this catastrophic phenomenon, including the extreme hailstorms we have seen in Europe and the world this summer. The forecast and various observations this year give cause for very significant concern. In this unique analysis, Free West Media explains why.
European Nationalist Parties Forge Cooperation Ahead of EU Elections
EUROPEAN ELECTIONSOn Saturday, August 26, representatives of six European nationalist parties gathered in Budapest. The meeting was initiated by the Hungarian party Mi Hazánk and took place in the national parliament. Representatives of the parties signed a joint declaration that not only reaffirms the parties' friendship but also their unity on a range of complex political issues. A surprisingly clear and radical manifesto was established. The hope is that this cooperation will lead to success in the EU elections and eventually result in the formation of a group in the European Parliament. For Swedish nationalism, this meeting marks a success as Sweden, for the first time, has a party represented in a leading nationalist cooperation in Europe. Free West Media was present at this historic event.
Turkey Believes Sweden Hasn’t Done Enough
Sweden will have to wait a bit longer for NATO membership, according to Turkey's Justice Minister Jilmaz Tunc. First, Sweden must extradite the "terrorists" Turkey wants and stop the desecration of the Quran.
Swedish Weapon Takes Down Russia’s Best Attack Helicopter
The Russian attack helicopter Ka-52 is considered one of the world's best and has struck fear in Ukraine, where it has hunted down tanks and other armored vehicles, often beyond the range of many light anti-aircraft systems. However, it has met its match in the Swedish air defense missile system RBS 70, which has quickly led to significant losses for the Russian helicopter forces.
Strong Confidence in German AfD
Alternative for Germany (AfD) held a party conference on July 29-30 to select candidates for the upcoming EU election next year. EU Parliament member Maximilian Krah, belonging to the party's more radical, ethnonationalist faction, was appointed as the top candidate. The party's two spokespersons delivered powerful speeches criticizing the EU's failed migration policy and trade sanctions that isolate Europe and Germany from the rest of the world. They argued that it's time for the EU to return a significant portion of its power to national parliaments. However, they have dropped the demand for Germany to exit the EU.
The Establishment Wants to Ban Germany’s Second Largest Party – for the Sake of Democracy
The rising popularity of AfD has raised strong concerns within the establishment. Despite lies and demonization in the media and isolation from the overall political establishment, the party continues to grow. Certain representatives of the party are accused of becoming increasingly "extreme," and in an unusual move, the influential weekly newspaper Der Spiegel demanded that AfD be "banned."
Dutch FvD break through the media blockade
What is happening in the Netherlands? It is often difficult to follow events in other countries, especially when distorted by system media. We give Forum for Democracy (FvD) the opportunity to speak out on the political situation in the Netherlands and the staunch resistance they face in trying to save the country.
The Ursula von der Leyen Affair
After a criminal complaint in Belgium against the President of the European Commission, the so-called SMS-case, now takes a new turn. The judge responsible for the investigation will likely gain access to the secret messages exchanged between Ursula von der Leyen and Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, at least if they haven't been deleted.
Publisher of Unique Literature Worldwide Blocked by International Distributor
Arktos has distinguished itself by publishing groundbreaking philosophers and social critics. Now, the publisher's international distributor has abruptly terminated the cooperation, and more than 400 already printed titles cannot reach their audience. There is strong evidence that the distributor has been under pressure, something that has also happened in Sweden. We have spoken with Arktos founder Daniel Friberg about the ongoing struggle for freedom of speech in a shrinking cultural corridor.
Care prompts bishops to criticize transgender ideology
The Catholic bishops of the Scandinavian countries presented an open five-page letter criticizing transgender ideology on March 21, just before Easter. The document primarily expresses care and advice and was read aloud in Catholic churches in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. Cardinal Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, is one of the signatories of the document.
