At least Helge Brown was not the fastest man in the match. Norbert Rottgen nominated himself for the post of CDU chairman last week, lastly Friedrich Merz. But Brown took its time. At first they already joked that his team could not find anyone. However, this Monday, he came to the federal press conference – he overcame a surprise.
Brown was able to beat two major Christian Democrats for his team. Rodgen and Mers were only able to present one woman each when they were introduced – both of which are little known. But Brown appears with Serap Cooler and Nadine Shawn.
Kular has been a member of the CDU Federal Executive Committee for nine years. Until now he has been Secretary of State for Coordination in North Rhine-Westphalia and has been a member of the Bundestag since the September election. Shawn has been vice chairman of the Union Parliamentary Committee since 2014 and is one of the party’s leading digital politicians. Despite these experiences, both are still young by CDU standards. Schön 38, Güler 41. Both are a generation younger than the average CDU member. If he is party leader, Güler should become general secretary, says Brown, Shaun, head of CDU’s planning and structural development.
Brown is 49 – the youngest of three candidates for party leader
Former Secretary-General Peter Dauper once announced during his tenure that the CDU should become younger, more feminine and more colorful. Brown now wants to make sure it applies to certain areas of the party leadership. He is 49 years old – thus the youngest of three candidates for the post of party leader.
However, Brown will have to fight the biggest reservations. The executive minister of the House of Representatives is seen as a government politician – at a time when many in the CDU want to once again overtake one party. After eight years in the Chancellery, many still consider him Merkel’s man and can not expect much of a “clean CDU” from him. However, above all, Brown has to fight with the fact that no one knows what they want. Merz and Röttgen were already the CDU bosses in the last election, so there are several rounds of introductions behind them, and they have been around for a long time.
So Brown first tries to explain what he is referring to at the federal press conference. Brown says the CDU needs “a fundamental update in mind, a fundamental update on the content and a fundamental update on the organization.” Coming back to CDU should be enjoyable. In order to win an election, the party must attract broad sections of society that are “underground” and “close to the people”. The CDU must ensure that all their roots are again perceived as equally valuable. For the past few years, conservatives have felt that they have not received enough attention, but that social issues have also been ignored in the election campaign.
“In my view, the CDU should always be about hard working people with their daily worries,” says Brown. It’s about issues like job security, pensions and apartment-rent. All of this should be something close to the heart of the CDU. And you should have “clear and simple answers to them”. In the future, however, the CDU’s conservative roots must become “clear enough.” For example, it applies to internal security and the fight against organized crime, terrorism and extremism.
Only women in supporting roles? “For a party in 2022” he could no longer imagine.
He wants to be a leader who accommodates others, Brown says. If he has a way, Ralph Brinkhaus should be the leader of the union faction. MERS, on the other hand, does not rule out trying to reach this office.
Brown claims that the CDU has only three positions of power in the opposition – the party leader, the parliamentary committee chairman and the general secretary. “Mentioning women in all three positions in supporting roles” is something he can no longer imagine “for a party in 2022”. That, too, was a point against Mers, who only wants to replace Christina Stump – the woman on his team – as deputy general secretary.
Nevertheless, MERS and Rodgen – members of the Hamburg Bundestag Francisco Hopperman want to be general secretary – are still considered the most promising candidates for the post of CDU president. But “if you haven’t fought, you’ve already lost,” Seraph says when introducing the cooler team.
And does not give the impression that Brown sees himself only as a candidate to be counted. He even allows a joke at the expense of Mers. “Good afternoon on behalf of Seraphim and Nadine Shawn in East Berlin,” Brown said at the start of his show. That’s right, the hall is in the former GTR area. But it’s also a little disgusting. Because Mers also opened his presentation in “East Berlin” last week. But his idea was in the western part of the city. Mers had to endure a lot of ridicule for his failure, and now Brown has recalled it with his subtle humor. That too was a challenge.