Posted on 12/21/2021 7:15:07 PM PST by Aquamarine
BERLIN (AP) — Members of Germany's biggest opposition party, the center-right Christian Democratic Union of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, have chosen prominent conservative Friedrich Merz as its new leader, the party said Friday.
Merz's election with a strong mandate appears to mark at least a symbolic break with the Merkel era. Making his third run for the CDU's top post, he took 62.1% support in a ballot of the party's membership to beat two centrist contenders.
A party convention next month will have to sign off officially on the membership vote, but that should only be a formality.
Armin Laschet, the CDU's leader since January, is stepping down after leading the two-party Union bloc to its worst-ever election result in September, winning only 24.1% of the vote. The bloc, which the CDU dominates, was narrowly beaten by the center-left Social Democrats of new Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
(Excerpt) Read more at daytondailynews.com ...
What does “conservative” mean in this contest?
Like “conservative” Mullahs and “conservative” politburos?
I thought Fred Mertz was dead.
Herr und Frau Mertz appeared nonplussed at the news.
If Christian Democratic Party is the “Conservative” Party, then their opposing Party must be the Bolsheviks then.
“...He left parliament in 2009, later practicing as a lawyer and heading the supervisory board of investment manager BlackRock’s German branch.”
That doesn’t sound good.
Literally, yes; “Die Linke” (literally “The Left”) is the rebranded East German Communist Party.
Depends on where Merz is from.
The sister party, the Christian Social Union, is based in Bavaria and is considerably more conservative.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.