Armin Laschet, head of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, has been elected as the new chairman of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Laschet managed to beat his more conservative rival Friedrich Merz in the second round of the digital party congress on Saturday. The press is pondering what the election will mean for Europe and how the CDU’s main core will react.
Best of all, straight to the chancellorship!
The Financial Times hopes that Armin Lachet will be a candidate for federal chancellor:
“It would be better for the CDU, Germany, and all of Europe if Mertz does not become a political leader. His economic and social views are hopelessly outdated, although on the whole he certainly holds pro-European views. But in his election campaign, he would surely emphasize a strict fiscal and monetary policy — in order to win back voters from the Euroskeptic nationalist AdG party. Such a campaign would not bode well for the country. Francophile Laschet would carefully and prudently continue Merkel’s pro-European course and perhaps bring a new dynamic to the strained Franco-German relationship. »
A steady hand at the helm
The publication Jyllands-Posten approves of Lachet’s election:
“Even if the CDU remains the country’s largest party in the future, the party today represents only a faint glimmer of its former strength. This fact is, of course, somewhat obscured by the fact that the country’s next largest party, the SPD, has dropped sharply in the ratings. The Greens, on the other hand, are gaining strength. With Laschet as chairman of the CDU, a coalition with the Greens is likely. And that would be something new in German politics. For Denmark, the decisive factor is that its big neighbor, Germany, is unequivocally committed to international cooperation. A calm and composed leader at the helm in Berlin is the first prerequisite for Europe to meet the many challenges it faces. Denmark faces the same challenges. So there are good reasons to welcome the election of Armin Laschet.
Pragmatism and predictability
Political and economic stability is the number one challenge for Germany, and Hungary should realize how lucky it is in this sense, writes Magyar Nemzet:
“Except for the big mistake Germany made during the 2015 migration crisis, the country as a whole does not make too hasty decisions. Germany is a champion of compromise and pragmatic relations. If we believe the German press coverage of Lachet, we should expect an era of Merkel without Merkel, an era of cold pragmatism, predictability, and equanimity. From Hungary’s point of view, things could take a much worse turn. So far, the small conflicts between Hungary and Germany have never reached the stage of escalation because no one was interested — not even Angela Merkel, who has been criticized so much.
