Armin Laschet To Be New German Chancellor; Will Lead Angela Merkel’s Party

25 Jan, 2021 17:52 IST|Sakshi Post

BERLIN: It was announced earlier that Armin Laschet (59) was elected as the new Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader and will replace Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right party chose Laschet as their new leader. Laschet is the governor of Germany's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The voters had to decide on the new chancellor at the Christian Democratic Union’s online convention. Armin Laschet, Friedrich Merz and lawmaker Norbert Roettgen were in the voting rounds. Roettgen got eliminated in the first round itself. In the next round of voting, Laschet won 521 votes and Friedrich Merz got 466 making Laschet the top candidate.

Following this voting session, the decision will be made on September 26 in the election. Laschet could either be one of the candidates for the chancellor’s position or will have a say in deciding the chancellor.

Armin Laschet is now the top candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor. In 2018, Merkel confirmed that after being the chancellor since 2005, she will not be coming back for another term. She also stepped down from the CDU leadership.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer’s resignation came after the regional crisis in Thuringia. The voting for the new CDU leader kept getting delayed because of COVID-19 and the lockdown.

Speaking about Laschet’s win, political expert Stefan Marschall shared that he is not surprised with Laschet’s win in the voting session as he is the leader who has the potential of bringing people together. He can be the one to unite the party.

Marschall further admitted that Laschet might not have been Angela Merkel’s first choice. She would have preferred the former CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. But after him, Armin Laschet is the best candidate.

Armin Laschet is a German politician. In 2017, he was elected as the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia state and on 16 January 2021, he was elected Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

After his win at the voting session Christian Democratic Union’s online convention, Laschet said that “I am aware of the responsibility that comes with this job and I will do everything to do well in the forthcoming regional elections and to make sure that in the national election, the next chancellor comes from the Union.”

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