The three leading candidates to take over from Chancellor Angela Merkel as head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) presented their cases to a local party meeting of 500 people in Seebach, near Eisenach in Thuringia, on Wednesday night.

It was the third of eight regional meetings for the candidates: Jens Spahn, Friedrich Merz and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

While the usual topics of education and employment came up, it was the discussion on immigration that sparked controversy.

"If we want to regulate immigration at the European level, then someday we will need a general debate on the fundamental right to asylum," said Merz. "I have long believed that we need to think about it."

Merkel backs UN migration pacts

Just a few hours earlier, Chancellor Angel Merkel had spoken in the Bundestag in favor of the UN migration and refugee pacts, the first global attempt to set out parameters for managing migration.

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Merz acknowledged that the UN pact was a nonbinding treaty but said he was still concerned the German fundamental right to asylum should not create an additional legal right for applicants: "If Germany accedes to this pact, it must be made clear that it does not extend the grounds for asylum before the administrative courts," he said.

The three hopefuls to become the next CDU party leader are taking part in a series of meetings.

Kramp-Karrenbauer backed Merkel saying: "I believe that this pact brings more advantages than disadvantages for us. It would be worth arguing for. And, of course, to debate it at the CDU party congress."

Spahn said there was a need for international guidelines but raised the concern that a number of countries were not prepared to join the pact.

Austria and some eastern European countries have spoken out against the UN and EU proposals for managing migration. Austria has just lost a case at the European Court of Justice as the Luxembourg court ruled EU states cannot make lower social assistance payments to refugees with temporary residence rights than to their own citizens. Austria is currently working on reforms to make it more difficult for foreigners to obtain state benefits.

Germany's constitutional right to asylum

Germany is the only country in the world that sets out an individual right to asylum in its constitution, Merz said during the regional CDU conference.

"At some point in the future, we have to hold a major public debate about whether to make a legal reservation in the Basic Law," said Merz. The right to asylum is covered by the so-called "eternity clause" of Germany's Basic Law and is one of the principles that cannot be altered unless a new constitution replaces it.

The populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) has set a political agenda, especially in eastern Germany, against immigration. Recent elections in Bavaria and Hesse saw the party gain at the expense of the CDU and its sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).

Angela Merkel's potential successors as chancellor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, CDU Kramp-Karrenbauer, also known as AKK, was Merkel's choice to become general secretary of the CDU in 2018. She is reputedly Merkel's pick as a successor as party leader. AKK headed a CDU-SPD coalition as state premier in the small southwestern state of Saarland before becoming the CDU's general secretary. She is considered a moderate who would continue Merkel's centrist policies.

Angela Merkel's potential successors as chancellor Jens Spahn, CDU The 38-year-old is the youngest and most overtly determined Merkel usurper. He entered the Bundestag in 2002 and became Germany's health minister in 2018. Spahn, who is openly gay, is popular in the CDU's conservative wing. He opposes limited dual citizenship for young foreigners, criticized attempts to loosen laws on advertising abortions and called for banning the Burqa in public.

Angela Merkel's potential successors as chancellor Friedrich Merz, CDU The former leader of the CDU/CSU grouping in the Bundestag has been out of frontline politics since leaving the Bundestag in 2009. But the 62-year-old announced his intention to replace Merkel within hours of the news that she would be stepping down. Merz reportedly fell out with Merkel after she replaced him as CDU/CSU group leader in 2002. He has been a chairman at Blackrock since 2016.

Angela Merkel's potential successors as chancellor Armin Laschet, CDU Laschet became state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2017. His win marked a major defeat for Social Democrats in Germany's 18 million-strong "coal" state. He has ruled out running as CDU head while Merkel remains chancellor. But he has hinted that he may announce his candidacy once Merkel has stood down, which would make it possible to occupy both posts simultaneously.

Angela Merkel's potential successors as chancellor Julia Klöckner, CDU Klöckner became agriculture minister in 2018 and has been CDU chief in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate since 2011. In 1995, before entering politics, she became Germany's "Wine Queen." Like Spahn, she belongs to the CDU's conservative wing. She raised eyebrows in 2016 when she proposed an alternative plan to Merkel's refugee policy.

Angela Merkel's potential successors as chancellor Peter Altmaier, CDU Altmeier, known as "Merkel's bodyguard," has supported the chancellor's centrist policy platform on multiple fronts. Originally from Saarland, Altmaier first worked for the European Union before entering the Bundestag in 1994. The former environment minister turned economy minister is renowned for his kitchen diplomacy and being a stickler for policy detail.

Angela Merkel's potential successors as chancellor Ursula von der Leyen, CDU Von der Leyen became defense minister in 2013 after serving a stint as labor minister. Despite her reform efforts, defense spending remains stubbornly low and the military continues to suffer from widespread equipment shortages. Von der Leyen, who studied in the United States and Britain, supports a larger role for Germany abroad and improving links between national armies in the European Union.

Angela Merkel's potential successors as chancellor Volker Bouffier, CDU Volker Bouffier has been the premier of the central state of Hesse since 2010. He formerly served as the state's interior minister and has twice "won" Big Brother awards from German data privacy advocates for propagating closer surveillance methods by police. The 66-year-old currently heads a CDU-Greens state government in Hesse and is a deputy chairperson in the national CDU executive. Author: Ian P. Johnson, Alexander Pearson



As they made their pitches, Merz said he would lead the CDU back to election results of "up to 40 percent," as Spahn and Kramp-Karrenbauer sought out familiar faces in the CDU faithful assembled in the hall.

The CDU leadership vote is to be held at a party conference in Hamburg on December 7-8.

jm/aw (dpa, Reuters)

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