Armin Laschet and the effort to 'escape Merkel's shadow'

Luck smiles

Armin Laschet's victory in the election for the CDU party chairman was a surprise result, as his opponent, Friedrich Merz - a powerful businessman and former CDU leader - was considered to have the highest chance of winning. Analysts say that the delay of the CDU party congress due to the Covid-19 pandemic was a great stroke of luck for Armin Laschet, and if the event had been held as originally planned, the outcome could have been very different.

New CDU Party Chairman Armin Laschet, potential candidate for German Chancellor. Photo: DW

Like everywhere else in the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has shaken Germany throughout 2020. But Angela Merkel's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has been widely supported by German public opinion, and her reputation has risen sharply. Armin Laschet - one of Merkel's closest allies, who has always expressed enthusiastic support for the policies of the "most powerful woman in the world" - has also won greater support from the public as well as within the CDU.

Armin Laschet's victory is said to have had a lucky element in terms of timing, but that does not mean he does not have the qualities to become the president.leader of the CDU, and could be the future leader of Germany. Armin Laschet's biggest plus is his extensive political experience.

At the age of 59, Mr. Armin Laschet has had a 25-year political career, holding many important positions such as a member of the German Parliament from 1994-1998, a member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2005. In the European Parliament, he worked at the Foreign Affairs Committee and was a special envoy to the United Nations. Since 2010, he has participated in the parliament of North Rhine-Westphlia - the most populous state in Germany. The biggest mark on Armin Laschet's political path is becoming the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphlia after the regional election in 2017 and forming a coalition government with the Free Democratic Party (FDP) in this state.

Armin Laschet has a quality that many people admire, which is perseverance. Without that perseverance, it would be difficult for Armin Laschet to be in one of the highest positions in the German political system as it is today. Looking at Armin Laschet's political path, people can clearly see the milestones that he has successfully conquered. But the failures he has experienced are not few, and without Arming Laschet's perseverance, many others might have given up. That was in 1998 when he lost his seat in the House of Representatives. That was in 2010 when he lost to his opponent Norbert Rottgen in the race for the CDU Chairmanship in the state of North Rhine-Westphlia.

Mr. Armin Laschet (2nd left) during the vote to elect Chairman of the CDU party, January 16, 2021. Photo: Reuters

But after the failures, Armin Laschet accepted to wait and continue his journey, and now he has reached the highest position of both the CDU party and the North Rhine-Westphlia state government.

Those who have met Armin Laschet say he is a very friendly person, which can easily lead people to mistake him for a superficial and unstable personality. But behind that friendliness is a persistent, tenacious Armin Laschet, and as Wolfgang Kubicki, Vice Chairman of the FDP, the CDU's coalition partner in North Rhine-Westphalia, describes him as an "extraordinary" Armin Laschet.

Surprise from Armin Laschet

In Armin Laschet's victory in winning the position of Chairman of the CDU party, it is impossible not to mention the role of Ms. Angela Merkel. Although she resigned as Chairman of the party in 2018 and also announced that she would not run in the German parliamentary election in September,The influence of Mrs. Merkelin German politics as well as within the CDU party is still very large. When Mr. Armin Laschet had to compete for the position of Chairman with Mr. Friedrich Merz, Mrs. Merkel did not hesitate to show her support for Mr. Armin Laschet because of the similarity in political ideology, which is the centrist path.

Since becoming one of five CDU vice-chairmen in 2012, Armin Laschet has been a trusted partner and aide to Merkel. Even when Merkel faced strong opposition within her party over her refugee policy in 2015, when Europe was facing its worst migration crisis in decades, Armin Laschet still gave her unwavering support.

Mr. Armin Laschet was once a trusted ally of Mrs. Angela Merkel. Photo: Time Magazine

Therefore, when Armin Laschet was elected as Chairman of the CDU with a narrow margin of votes compared to Mr. Friedrich Merz, many people questioned whether he could escape the huge shadow of his predecessor, could stand on his own two feet without Mrs. Merkel as his support, especially when he himself realized that "many people voted for Armin Laschet mainly because they supported Mrs. Merkel for the past 15 years".

But Armin Laschet's debut surprised many people, with a speech that was considered good and emotional, showing an Armin Laschet with hidden potential, not simply a "shadow" of Mrs. Merkel. Armin Laschet's speech had a prominent ideological highlight different from Mrs. Merkel, which is social cohesion and reconciliation. This ideology is also considered the "key" for him to resolve the biggest challenge within the CDU party, when the votes in the recent party congress showed that the conservative right wing is emerging very strongly.

In response to concerns about thedeep divisionsIn the CDU party between the two forces of the centrist and the conservative right, Armin Laschet affirmed that a party must have a clear line but not necessarily polarize and divide. Armin Laschet related the chaotic scene that took place on Capitol Hill on January 6, to the attack by German protesters on the Reichstag Parliament Building in Berlin last year, considering it a warning to any leader about political division and polarization, and pledged that he would do his best to unite the party internally, and fulfill the role of leading the country of the CDU/CSU coalition. Analysts said that Armin Laschet's commitment was well-founded, because in the past, he had shown his ability to unite parties, most notably by proposing a three-way coalition of the CDU, FDP and the Green Party in 2017.

Mr. Armin Laschet pledged to unite the CDU party. Photo: The Guardian

Traditionally, the CDU leader has always been a candidate for the German chancellorship, and Armin Laschet is naturally considered a potential candidate to succeed Angela Merkel in the upcoming September election. But before he can climb the political ladder, Laschet will face a major test, the regional elections in March. The performance of the CDU under Armin Laschet in this election will clearly show the level of trust Armin Laschet has with German voters. Armin Laschet has stated that he will protect the trust that Merkel has won from German voters over the past 15 years in the Armin Laschet way, and that will be the clearest confirmation that Armin Laschet is Armin Laschet.