Armin Laschet
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Laschet in 2018Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Assumed office
27 June 2017Deputy Joachim Stamp Preceded by Hannelore Kraft Leader of the Christian Democratic Union Assumed office
22 January 2021Deputy Jens Spahn
Thomas Strobl
Volker Bouffier
Julia Klöckner
Silvia BreherGeneral Secretary Paul Ziemiak Preceded by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Leader of the Christian Democratic Union
in North Rhine-WestphaliaAssumed office
20 June 2012Deputy Ralph Brinkhaus
Karl-Josef Laumann
Jan Heinisch
Ina Scharrenbach
Elisabeth Winkelmeier-BeckerGeneral Secretary Bodo Löttgen
Josef HovenjürgenPreceded by Norbert Röttgen Deputy Leader of the
Christian Democratic UnionIn office
5 December 2012 – 16 January 2021Leader Angela Merkel
Annegret Kramp-KarrenbauerPreceded by Norbert Röttgen Succeeded by Jens Spahn Minister for Generations, Family, Women and Integration of North Rhine-Westphalia In office
22 June 2005 – 15 July 2010Minister-President Jürgen Rüttgers Preceded by Office established Succeeded by Office abolished Member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
for Aachen II
(CDU List; 2010–2017)Assumed office
9 June 2010Preceded by Daniela Jansen (Aachen II) Member of the European Parliament In office
20 July 1999 – 29 June 2005Constituency Germany Member of the Bundestag
for Aachen IIn office
10 November 1994 – 26 October 1998Preceded by Hans Stercken Succeeded by Ulla Schmidt Personal details Born 19 February 1961
Aachen, West GermanyPolitical party Christian Democratic Union Spouse(s) Children - Johannes
- Eva
- Julius
Parents - Heinrich Laschet
- Marcella Frings
Residence Burtscheid Alma mater University of Munich
University of BonnSignature 
Website Armin Laschet (German pronunciation: [ˈaʁmiːn ˈlaʃət] (
listen); born 18 February 1961) is a German politician serving as Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia since 27 June 2017. On 16 January 2021, he was elected as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Laschet earned a law degree and worked as a journalist before and during his early political career. In 1994 he was elected to the German Bundestag and in 1999 he became a Member of the European Parliament. In 2005 he entered state politics in North Rhine-Westphalia as a member of the state government. As a cabinet minister he was known for his liberal views and good relations with the immigrant community, earning him the nickname "Turkish Armin". In 2012 he became leader of the state party, and he was elected Prime Minister of the state in 2017. He heads the Cabinet Laschet, consisting of his own CDU and the liberal FDP.
On 16 January 2021, Laschet was elected leader of the CDU, winning 52.8% of delegates votes against Friedrich Merz in the second round of the contest.[1] The result of the election was certified by postal vote of the party conference's delegates with the final result announced on 22 January. It was confirmed on 20 April 2021 that he would be the CDU/CSU candidate for Chancellor of Germany, after rival Markus Söder conceded.[2]
He was born to an observant Roman Catholic family of German-speaking Walloon origin; his father's parents were both of Belgian origin.[3] He is married to Susanne Malangré, whom he met in a Catholic children's choir when they were children and who is a member of a prominent Aachen political family of French-speaking Walloon origin.
Background
Early life and education
Laschet was born in Burtscheid, a suburb of Aachen, about three kilometres from the Belgian and Dutch borders, to parents Heinrich Laschet and Marcella née Frings; he was raised in an observant Roman Catholic family.[4] His father was a mining engineer at a black coal mine and later became an elementary school teacher and headmaster.[5] The Laschet family is originally from Liège Province in Wallonia in modern Belgium where the family's ancestor Jacques (or Jacob) Laschet lived in Hergenrath in the Duchy of Limburg in the 18th century; his paternal grandfather Hubert Laschet (1899–1984) moved from Hergenrath to Aachen in the 1920s;[a] his paternal grandmother Hubertina Wetzels (1900–1979) had been born in Aachen to parents who had just moved there from Welkenraedt in Belgium.[6] Like many others in the tri-border area the Laschets had relatives across the national boundaries, who lived in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Neutral Moresnet. Laschet maintains close personal ties to Belgium where members of the Laschet family still live.[3]
He attended the Pius-Gymnasium in Aachen and studied law at the universities of Bonn and Munich, passing the first state examination in law in 1987. He studied journalism from 1986 to 1988. In Munich he became a member of K.D.St.V. Aenania München, a Catholic student fraternity that is member of the Cartellverband.
Laschet speaks fluent French.[7]
Laschet worked as a journalist and in the publishing industry from 1986 until 1991, among other things as Bonn correspondent for Bayerischer Rundfunk. He later served as editor-in-chief of the Catholic newspaper KirchenZeitung Aachen from 1991 until 1994. From 1995 to 1999, while also serving as a member of parliament, he was CEO of the Catholic publishing company Einhard-Verlag, which had previously been led by his father-in-law Heinrich Malangré.
Family
Laschet is married to his childhood sweetheart Susanne Malangré, whom he met as a child in a Catholic children's choir led by Susanne's father, prominent business executive Heinrich Malangré; they married in 1985.[8] The couple has two sons and a daughter.[7] The family resides in Aachen's Burtscheid district. His wife belongs to a prominent Aachen family of French-speaking Walloon origin and is the niece of CDU politician and lord mayor of Aachen Kurt Malangré; the Malangré family moved from Haine-Saint-Pierre in Belgium to Stolberg to establish a glass production business in the second half of the 19th century.[9] His son Johannes ("Joe") Laschet, who studied law, is a blogger and model, described as a fashion influencer on Instagram.[10][11]
Political career
Member of the German Bundestag, 1994–1998
Following the 1994 national elections, Laschet became a member of the German Bundestag. He was on the Committee for Economic Cooperation and Development and on the Committee for European Union Affairs.
Member of the European Parliament, 1999–2005
As Member of the European Parliament, Laschet served on the Committee on Budgets between 1999 and 2001 and on the Committee on Foreign Affairs between 2002 and 2005. In the latter capacity, he served as the Parliament's rapporteur on relations between the EU and the United Nations.[12]
Role in state politics
Armin Laschet speaks at the CDU federal party conference in Cologne in 2014Under Minister-President (Prime Minister) Jürgen Rüttgers in North Rhine-Westphalia, Laschet served as State Minister for Generations, Family, Women and Integration from 2005 until 2010, and as State Minister for Federal Affairs, Europe and Media from 2010. In 2010, he unsuccessfully ran against Norbert Röttgen for the post of CDU chairman in the state.[13] When Röttgen resigned from that office in 2012, Laschet was elected as his successor. On 4 December 2012 he was elected as one of five deputy chairpersons of the national CDU party,[14] serving alongside Volker Bouffier, Julia Klöckner, Thomas Strobl and Ursula von der Leyen.
Laschet currently serves as state MP in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia and also chairs the CDU's state chapter (Landesverband). From 2014 until 2016, he was a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia Commission for Constitutional Reform, led by Rainer Bovermann.[15]
In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition of the Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) following the 2013 federal elections, Laschet was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on energy policy, led by Peter Altmaier and Hannelore Kraft.
In November 2015, Laschet visited the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan to learn more about the plight of Syrians fleeing the violence in the ongoing Syrian civil war that erupted in 2011.[16] Between March 2015 and January 2016, he chaired the Robert Bosch Expert Commission to Consider a Realignment of Refugee Policy, an expert group convened by the Robert Bosch Stiftung.[17]
In November 2016, Laschet was elected leading candidate for the North Rhine-Westphalia state elections in May 2017.[18] He was a CDU delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2017.[19]
Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2017–present
Since 27 June 2017 Laschet has been the 11th Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia (Cabinet Laschet). As one of his state's representatives at the Bundesrat, he serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Defence Committee.
CDU president and CDU/CSU joint candidate for chancellor
Following Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's announcement on 10 February 2020 that she would step down as CDU party leader before the end of 2020 and would not stand as a candidate for chancellor in the 2021 federal elections, Laschet announced at a national press conference on 25 February 2020 that he would run for the party presidency, and thus also for the chancellorship. He named Jens Spahn[20] as his vice-presidential candidate, with Friedrich Merz[21] and Norbert Röttgen[22] as his challengers.
Polls subsequently showed voters rated Laschet's management of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany's most populous state poorly.[23]
The election of the new CDU party president, after several postponements due to the coronavirus epidemic, took place only at the two-day party congress in mid-January 2021, which was the first fully digital congress in the party's history. On the second day of the congress, 16 January 2021, Laschet won 38.42% of the votes in the first round and 52.79% in the second round. He thus became the new president of the CDU.[24][25]
However, the strong intra-party divisions that were also evident in the vote could have led to a joint CDU/CSU chancellorship candidacy for Markus Söder, the president of the smaller Bavarian sister party, the CSU.[26] Polls conducted immediately before the party congress showed that 55 percent of voters considered Söder a good candidate for chancellor, while 80 percent of CDU/CSU supporters thought he was a good candidate, compared to only 27 percent and 32 percent respectively for Laschet.[27]
Söder opted for a wait-and-see strategy, finally announcing at a press conference in Munich on 19 April 2021 that he would not delay the nomination of his candidate for chancellor as the federal elections approached, and that he and his party, the CSU, would therefore accept the decision of the CDU's "big sister" executive board meeting, which began that day, as binding on both him and his party, the CSU. Subsequently, following a late-night meeting of the CDU leadership in Berlin, it was announced that in a secret ballot, 77.5 percent of those present at the meeting had finally backed Laschet, compared to just 22.5 percent for Söder. Thus, it was a foregone conclusion that Armin Laschet would be in the running to become chancellor of the CDU/CSU coalition in September 2021.[28]
Subsequently, Laschet tried to "channel" the far greater popularity of his biggest rival within the CDU by recruiting Merz to his campaign team, saying that he "belonged in the team" and that his economic and financial expertise would be crucial in helping them to overcome the huge challenge of the pandemic in a sustainable way.[29]
After having been chosen as his party's candidate to succeed Merkel in the national elections, Laschet was initially seen as having made an uncertain start to his campaign[30] and faced calls to chart a more right-wing course to win back voters disenchanted by the incumbent coalition government. However, the party's win in the Saxony-Anhalt elections was later interpreted as a boost to Laschet.[31]
Laschet presented the joint CDU/CSU election platform with Söder on 21 June 2021. In the programme, they stated that combating the pandemic, climate change and defending prosperity and freedom are global challenges, and that their goal is to create a Germany open to the world, which strives for both modernisation and green policies.[32]
Political positions
European integration
Both Laschet and Ursula von der Leyen, shown here in 2015, were deputy leaders of the national CDU party. Von der Leyen would go on to become President of the European Commission in 2019On European integration, Laschet seeks to strengthen the European Union on issues such as fighting international terrorism and organized crime, as well as energy policy. He also wants to see the President of the European Commission be elected directly by European voters.[33]
During the European debt crisis, Laschet called for an "open discussion" toward a broad solution to the debt crisis, of which Eurobonds could be a part.[34] He argued that a Greek exit from the Eurozone could trigger undesirable upheaval in southern Europe: "(An exit) could lead to instability in a NATO member state. Russia is standing ready with billions to help Greece in such a scenario."[35] In October 2011, he signed George Soros' open letter calling for more European Union involvement in the single currency turmoil.[36]
In 2020 alone, Laschet met with French president Emmanuel Macron three times. Alongside Jens Spahn, Laschet was invited by Macron of France to attend the 2020 Bastille Day celebrations in Paris, in a sign of gratitude for their role in helping French citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic in France.[37] In an honour reserved for special guests, Macron invited Laschet into the Élysée Palace's gardens.[38]
Social policy
Laschet was a fierce defender of Chancellor Merkel's migration policies during the European migrant crisis of 2015.[39]
In 2016, Laschet dismissed proposals for a so-called burqa ban as a "phony debate" and distraction from more pressing issues. However, his party later adopted this policy as a core issue.[40][41][42]
Ahead of a parliamentary vote in June 2017, Laschet expressed his opposition against Germany's introduction of same-sex marriage.[43]
In 2018, Laschet described the treehouses protesting the destruction of Hambach forest as "illegally occupied areas" and stated that RWE had the right to clear the forest. "The state government is there to ensure that the law that applies is enforced," he said during a talk show on German public broadcaster WDR.[44]
Foreign policy
Laschet considers Germany to be insufficiently prepared for global political challenges. In his view, the country lacks the will to pursue a foreign policy that is independent of other major powers such as Russia or the US. Laschet also hopes for more strategic thinking and action from the EU, saying it "must become fit for global politics."[45]
In 2015, Laschet was criticised for not standing up for German interests when it was revealed that US intelligence agencies are illegally spying on German citizens and businesses.[46] German experts estimate that by the year 2000, American industrial espionage was already causing annual economic losses of at least €10 billion per year due to stolen inventions and development projects – the number having likely only risen since then due to the increase of digitisation. Despite these revelations, Laschet supported Angela Merkel's policy, which in leaked cables was revealed to be to "sit out" the pressure from the German public and Bundestag.[47]
Laschet is considered by some critics as taking a soft stance on the government of President Vladimir Putin.[48][49] Noah Barkin, writing for Foreign Policy, points out that Laschet has voiced support for Nord Stream 2 and for a closer relationship with China and is against excluding Huawei from Germany's 5G network. However, Germany's Federal Office for Information Security has supported Laschet's position, saying that comprehensive investigations into Huawei's hardware and software have produced no evidence of wrongdoing and that an exclusion is unjustified.[50] Barkin further argues that Laschet has also been against "demonizing" Putin for the Russian annexation of Crimea.[51] At the same time, Laschet said that Germany should increase military spending and take on a greater share of military burdens within NATO. He argued that the Bundeswehr should take on more responsibility in Africa, around the Mediterranean and in Mali.[52]
In 2018, Laschet cancelled his appearances at the Ruhrtriennale arts and music festival due to the festival allowing supporters of the BDS movement to perform.[53] In 2021, he pledged support for Israel: "We stand by Israel's side without reservation."[45]
In 2013, Laschet criticised Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle's support for rebels in the civil war in Syria: "It is absurd that the same people we are fighting in Mali are being supported in Syria. It is the terrorist groups al-Nusra and al-Qaida, financed from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, who are introducing Sharia courts and fighting Syria's religious diversity".[54] In 2013, Laschet also criticised Westerwelle's demand to release former President Mohammed Mursi after the coup in Egypt in 2013, as minorities and Christians in particular had suffered under Mursi.[54]
Other activities
Corporate boards
- RAG-Stiftung, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2017)[55]
Non-profit organizations
- Development and Peace Foundation (SEF), Ex-Officio chairman of the board of Trustees (since 2017)
- Kunststiftung NRW, chairman of the board of Trustees (since 2017)[56]
- North Rhine-Westphalian Foundation for the Environment and Development (SUE), Ex-Officio chairman of the board (since 2017)[57]
- Atlantik-Brücke, Member
- Bonner Akademie für Forschung und Lehre praktischer Politik (BAPP), Member of the Board of Trustees[58]
- Campus Symposium of the Business and Information Technology School, Member of the Advisory Board
- Central Committee of German Catholics, Member
- Charlemagne Prize, Member of the board of directors
- European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Member
- European Foundation for the Aachen Cathedral, Member of the Board of Trustees
- Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Policy Fellow
- Karl Arnold Foundation, Member of the Board
- Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Member of the Planning Committee
- Peace of Westphalia Prize, Member of the Jury[59]
- missio, Member of the Supervisory Board
- St. Maria zur Wiese, Member of the Board of Trustees[60]
- United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN), Member of the Presidium[61]
- Theodor Heuss Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees (−2015)
Notes
- Hergenrath was historically part of the Duchy of Limburg, one of the provinces of the Burgundian Netherlands. The duchy was multilingual, with Dutch, French, and German dialects spoken. The area was annexed by France at the end of the 18th century, then awarded to Prussia by the Congress of Vienna, and became part of Belgium after World War I. It is now part of the Belgian Liège Province and forms part of the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
References
- Moulson, Geir (16 January 2021). "Pragmatic governor Laschet elected to lead Merkel's party". Associated Press. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- Dillmann, Daniel (20 April 2021). "Markus Söder: "Kandidat der Herzen" verliert Machtkampf gegen Armin Laschet". Frankfurter Rundschau. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- "Armin Laschet, nieuwe Duitse CDU-leider, heeft Belgische roots: 'Hij heeft nog altijd een nauwe band met ons land'" [Armin Laschet, new German CDU leader, has Belgian roots: 'He still has a close relationship with our country']. Nieuwsblad. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- "Armin Laschet". Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands. 14 March 2013. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- Reisener, Thomas (14 May 2017). "Armin Laschet im Porträt: Der Mann für den zweiten Blick". RP Online (in German). Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- Bernhard Willems, "Die früheren Grundherren des Bereiches von Eupen", Ostbelgische Chronik, Vol. 2, 1949
- Karnitschnig, Matthew (25 February 2020). "The wannabe Merkels". Politico Europe. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- "Armin Laschet: Immer unterwegs und meistens gut gelaunt". Aachener Nachrichten (in German). 18 May 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- Seeling, Hans: Wallonische Industriepioniere in Deutschland, Wahle 1983, p. 178
- "Joe Laschet auf Instagram: Der Ryan Gosling für Bonner". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- "Prime Minister's son lives in Bonn: Johannes Laschet works as blogger and model". General-Anzeiger. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- David Cronin and Martin Banks (19 November 2003), Afghanistan drug trade still proving a tough nut to crack European Voice.
- Donahue, Patrick (17 August 2010), Germany's Roettgen to Run for State CDU Leadership, Bild Says Bloomberg News.
- hannover2012.cdu.de: Elections at the 25th party conference of the CDU in Germany
- Drucksache 16/12400: Abschlussbericht der Kommission zur Reform der Nordrhein-Westfälischen Verfassung (Verfassungskommission), 27 June 2016 Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia.
- Helmut Rehmsen (30 November 2015), Gespräch mit Armin Laschet über Flüchtlinge in Jordanien: "Die Grenzen sind hier immer schon offen" Archived 12 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine WDR 2.
- Robert Bosch Expert Commission to Consider a Realignment of Refugee Policy Robert Bosch Stiftung.
- Armin Laschet ist CDU-Spitzenkandidat in NRW Bild, 26 November 2017.
- Wahl der Mitglieder für die 16. Bundesversammlung Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, decision of 14 December 2016.
- Leithäuser, Johannes; Wehner, Markus. "Als Team in die CDU-Spitze: Wie Laschet und Spahn ihre Mitbewerber unter Druck setzen". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- "Merz will CDU-Vorsitz: „Ich spiele auf Sieg und nicht auf Platz"". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- "Röttgen zu Bewerbung: „Es geht um die Zukunft der CDU"". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- Paul Carrel (September 13, 2020), Would-be Merkel successor Laschet emboldened by local election win Reuters.
- SPIEGEL, DER. "Armin Laschet zum neuen CDU-Vorsitzenden gewählt". www.spiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche, Merkels Getreuer - Armin Laschet ist neuer CDU-Chef | DW | 16.01.2021 (in German), retrieved 22 June 2021
- Online, FOCUS. "Nach Laschet-Wahl wird CDU nur unter einer Bedingung nach Söder als K-Kandidat rufen". FOCUS Online (in German). Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- Staff, Reuters (7 January 2021). "Umfrage - Söder liegt in Wählergunst vor Kandidaten-Trio für CDU-Vorsitz". Reuters. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- Lohse, Eckart; Berlin. "Machtkampf mit Markus Söder: CDU-Vorstand deutlich für Laschet als Kanzlerkandidat". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- Burger, Reiner; Düsseldorf. "Laschet nominiert Merz: Ein Partner, um eigene Schwächen auszugleichen". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- Philip Oltermann (June 8, 2021), Personality continues to trump policy as German elections loom The Guardian.
- Thomas Escritt (June 6, 2021), Conservative win in German state election boosts Laschet's chancellery hopes Reuters.
- mdr.de. "Wahlprogramm der Union: Steuern, Rente, Reformen - Was CDU/CSU wollen | MDR.DE". www.mdr.de (in German). Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- Melanie Amann, Peter Müller, René Pfister and Christoph Schult (25 June 2013), Chancellor Merkel Cools on European Integration Der Spiegel.
- Jeff Black (16 August 2011), Eurobond Support Growing in Merkel's CDU, Handelsblatt Reports Bloomberg News.
- Matthias Sobolewski (27 August 2012), German lawmakers say "Grexit" not just economic risk Reuters.
- George Soros and 95 others (12 October 2011). "As concerned Europeans we urge Eurozone leaders to unite". ft.com. Financial Times. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- Maximilian Plück (July 14, 2020), Zeremonie in Paris: Macron lädt Laschet und Spahn zum Nationalfeiertag ein Rheinische Post.
- Andreas Rinke and Paul Carrel (October 5, 2020), State premier Laschet is frontrunner to succeed Merkel: party sources Reuters.
- Guy Chazan (February 25, 2020), Armin Laschet in pole position to head Germany's CDU Financial Times.
- "Merkel Backs German Full-Veil Ban in Pitch to CDU Members". Bloomberg.com. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "German conservatives renew calls for a burqa ban | DW | 02.08.2019". DW.COM. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- Justin Huggler (19 August 2016), Germany proposes burka ban for schools, universities and public workers The Daily Telegraph.
- "Ehe ist eine Beziehung zwischen Mann und Frau" Die Welt, June 29, 2017.
- (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "German state set to clear out Hambach Forest treehouses | DW | 13 September 2018". DW.COM. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
- Deutsche Welle (19 May 2021). "Armin Laschet: "Wir müssen strategischer werden" | DW | 19.05.2021". Deutsche Welle (in German). Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- Rheinische Post (12 June 2016). "Rheinische Post: Laschet verteidigt Merkel in NSA-Affäre". presseportal.de (in German). Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- Biermann, Kai (28 April 2015). "Wie die Regierung Parlament und Bürger täuscht". ZEIT (in German). Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- Andreas Rinke (September 5, 2020), Merkel ally dodges question on gas sanctions on Russia over Navalny case Reuters.
- Laurenz Gehrke (January 16, 2021), 5 things to know about German CDU chief Armin Laschet Politico Europe.
- Der Spiegel (14 December 2018). "5G-Netzausbau: BSI spricht sich gegen Huawei-Boykott aus". SPIEGEL (in German). Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- Barkin, Noah (18 January 2021). "Armin Laschet Is Merkel's Most Likely Successor. Is He Too Gemütlich?". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- Vera Eckert in and Holger Hansen (June 13, 2021), Germany's Laschet vows to raise military spending if elected Reuters.
- Weinthal, Benjamin (8 August 2018). "German governor boycotts anti-Israel music festival affiliated with BDS". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- Der Spiegel (12 August 2013). "CDU-Vize Laschet wirft Westerwelle falsche Nahost-Politik vor". SPIEGEL (in German). Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- Board of Trustees Archived 20 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine RAG-Stiftung.
- Board of Trustees Archived 21 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine Kunststiftung NRW.
- Board of Trustees North Rhine-Westphalian Foundation for the Environment and Development (SUE).
- Board of Trustees Bonner Akademie für Forschung und Lehre praktischer Politik (BAPP).
- Members of the Jury Wirtschaftliche Gesellschaft für Westfalen und Lippe.
- Board of Trustees St. Maria zur Wiese.
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Qualche
ammalato di dietrologia potrebbe interpretare questo strano annuncio in
due battute insinuando che la cancelliera abbia fatto filtrare la
rinuncia alla guida del partito sperando in una sollevazione a suo
favore che avrebbe potuto accompagnarla per la quinta volta alla
cancelleria. E che solo dopo aver constatato che la sollevazione non
c’era, nemmeno tra i suoi fedelissimi, si sarebbe decisa al passo più
importante e più doloroso: la rinuncia al potere nel cuore d’Europa, al
titolo di “donna più potente del mondo” e alla guida di un paese che
certamente l’ha amata, fino a chiamarla “mammina”.
Questo
stereotipo Angela Merkel se lo porterà con sé anche quando lascerà il
bellissimo edificio del Bundeskanzleramt, disegnato dagli architetti
Axel Schultes e Charlotte Franke simbolicamente spalancato alla vista di
tutti sull’ansa della Sprea. C’è un pizzico di ingiustizia in questo
giacché, a considerare bene le cose, i veri campioni assoluti del rigore
tedesco da imporre a tutti non stavano alla cancelleria ma piuttosto
alla Bundesbank, al ministero delle Finanze quando alla guida c’era
l’eterno nemico di Angela Wolfgang Schäuble, nelle file della CDU e più
ancora della CSU bavarese, tra gli alleati (quando lo erano) liberali
della FDP. E, pesa dirlo, talvolta pure tra i socialdemocratici alleati
nella große Koalition. Ma gli stereotipi sono stereotipi, non c’è spazio
per le sfumature e i distinguo.
