OhDuring her 16 years as Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel has earned her reputation as the world’s preferred consensus builder, a ruthless counterfeiter of compromises between political opponents. The man most likely to stand at her feet in September this year showed himself as a person with ambitions to surpass her.
The leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the conservative candidate for the top position in the federal election on September 26, Armin Laschet (Armin Laschet) stated that he is a passionate European, a staunch transatlantic and A reliable ally of Israel.
But in an extensive interview with The Guardian, the 60-year-old liberal conservative emphasized that as prime minister he will seek to expand the size of the church, urge Europe to renew dialogue with Vladimir Putin, and warn against interrupting trade with China. negotiation. , Called for more diplomatic measures in the EU’s exchanges with Hungary and Poland, and suggested not to escalate tensions with the United Kingdom.
“Even in the coldest period of the Cold War, there has always been economic exchanges and dialogue between civil society,” Raschelt said. “This must be our principle-and at the same time urge respect for human rights.”
The cheerful Rheinland, the current governor of North Rhine Westphalia, has proven his endurance in the competition to become the main candidate of the CDU, defeating the conservative hardline Friedrich Meyer And the challenge of the governor of Bavaria Marcus Soder.
Opinion polls show that the CDU continued its dominance into the post-Merkel era, leading the second-ranked Green Party by about 10%. There is no clear majority in any coalition where the CDU does not hold senior positions.
If he wins in September, Lashet promises to achieve a “decade of modernization” in the future. GermanyIn conversations with the Guardian, he cited Conrad Adenauer, Willie Brandt, Helmut Kohl, and Gerhard Schroeder and other reformist predecessors, although not silently. Kerr.
“What should be done now is the modernization of technology and procedures. It expired before the pandemic, but the pandemic allowed us to experience it more intensely,” Raschelt said.
Due to the cumbersome bureaucracy and the difficulty of the education system to switch to distance learning, people’s anger at the vaccination plan caused the CDU’s support rate to plummet at the beginning of the year.
“Too many decisions are not made fast enough. The digitalization of the administrative agency is not enough. All these processes are too dull and lack the vitality needed to shape the transformation of an industrial society.”
But in most areas, Laschet said that the route has been determined. Unlike Brandt, Kohl or Schröder, his mission is not so much execution as persuasion. He said that the French-German Aachen Treaty signed in his hometown in 2019 provides a lot of “unused potential” for military cooperation and joint economic projects in artificial intelligence research and battery production.
He said that with the EU’s pandemic recovery plan, sufficient measures have been taken to stabilize the single market. “This is the first time we have undertaken joint debt, which runs counter to the basic idea of Germany. This is a big step for Germany, but it is also necessary for our cohesion.”
The 750 billion euro recovery fund will last until 2026, thus covering Lashet’s potential first term. He agrees with his party’s position that debt sharing will still be one-off. “The EU’s future joint issuance of debt is not a permanent discretionary mandate.”
Regarding measures to address the climate crisis, Laschet’s commitment to voters is that the key decision has been made, and its implementation will follow Neither threatens German industry Nor will it cause personal inconvenience to citizens.
Rashet entered the European Parliament in 1999, shortly before Vladimir Putin was elected President of Russia for the first time. Some former colleagues stated that his views on geopolitical relations are still being driven by the optimism of that era. In the following two decades, despite Merkel’s attempts to maintain dialogue with the Kremlin, relations between Russia and Europe deteriorated sharply.
“Diplomacy requires as many words as possible,” Rashet said, insisting that France-Germany’s concerted efforts with Putin prevented the escalation of conflict in eastern Ukraine.
“But we have stopped negotiations. We are only now beginning to realize that Europe is no longer talking to Putin. The President of the United States has started talking because the European Council cannot agree on whether to talk to Putin. This situation weakens Europe.”
On the Beixi No. 2 natural gas pipeline, the natural gas pipeline that connects Russia’s Vyborg and Germany’s Greifswald, the Baltic and Eastern European countries are worried that this will increase Putin’s influence. Raschelt said his party has delineated The red line. “There can be no geopolitical decisions that are detrimental to Ukraine,” he said.
But was asked whether Putin recently called for Ukraine shows “goodwill” Raschelt said that in exchange for Russia to continue to carry out natural gas transportation has violated the basis for completing the Beixi No. 2 project, “if he turns his speech into concrete actions, it is a violation of regulations.”
He also has a dovish attitude towards other diplomatic conflicts. “In China, the situation is more complicated. To sever diplomatic relations and ban all forms of trade-is this a wise response? I don’t think so.”
Poland and Hungary’s repression of LGBTQ rights and media diversity triggered calls for financial sanctions by Western European politicians, but Laschet advocated restraint. “We must also maintain dialogue with Poland and Hungary, even though I am concerned about all the problems of the rule of law.”
During Raschett’s time in Strasbourg, Britain often proved to be a counterattack against France and Germany’s plans for further European integration. But he said Brexit left a loophole. “Britain is a small island off the coast of the United States-De Gaulle sees it this way, but this is not my opinion.
“I have a personal relationship with the United Kingdom, and I feel very sorry that the United Kingdom has left the European Union. […] But this decision has been made, and we need to consider how to shape our future relations with our European neighbors and NATO allies. We must ensure that even without the Common Market and the Erasmus Project, young people in Germany and Britain can continue to understand each other. “
He advised the European Commission not to escalate the recent impasse in the Northern Ireland agreement with the United Kingdom, which is part of the Brexit agreement to prevent inspections of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
“The European Commission has a clear and unanimous position, but the UK seems to want to break away from the jointly made agreement. That can’t happen. But at the same time it is clear: for the conflicts we face in this world, we must stand together to find solutions. China and Russia have presented new challenges that require us to stand together. The attitude should be to find sustainable solutions, not to upgrade.”
In Germany, Raschelt’s determination to keep potential opponents in the tent led to criticism of his handling of Hans-Georg Mason, the former head of the domestic intelligence agency. He has started to share right-wing populist conspiracy theories on social media and is now running for parliamentary seats in the CDU. In a recent interview, Mason claimed that the German National Broadcasting Corporation was infiltrated by journalists associated with left-wing extremist circles.
Rashet refused to fire the controversial candidate when asked. “The red line is very clear. Right-wing populist parties like AfD [Alternative für Deutschland], There will be no negotiation, no cooperation, no alliance, nothing. This is an absolute boundary that no one can cross. “
When asked if he would recommend that the Germans vote for the former spy chief, Raschelt said: “Voters in his electoral district […] It will be decided whether he is a suitable candidate. “
Merkel pushed for sanctions against Russia’s annexation of Ukraine in 2014 by showing that she could make difficult decisions that exceeded her immediate national interests, or she could either cooperate with Alexei Navalny or Liu Xia. Her successor has yet to win this trust.
When asked to give a personal example of his fight against political opponents in his political career, Raschelt avoided. “It has been helpful not to disclose the people I put in their positions. You always have to know the means you can use.”
