Members of Angela Merkel's ruling Christian Democrats (CDU) are hitting back at Health Minister Jens Spahn's suggestion that Germany should not sign on to the United Nations' Global Compact for Migration after all.

Spahn's proposal did not go down well with Manfred Weber, a German member of European Parliament who leads the center-right European People's Party. Instead, Weber told DW the matter required a European response.

"It would be a good signal for the future if we could give a proper answer as Europeans together, united," Weber told DW. "I think it’s better to compromise, to signal to the outside world especially to our African friends that we are ready to compromise than to be egoistic."

'Lack of leadership'

Norbert Röttgen, who heads the Bundestag's foreign affairs committee, said the agreement, which is not legally binding, would be an important step by the international community in controlling migration and was therefore in Germany's best interest.

"To put off signing the migration pact would be a lack of leadership that Germany cannot permit," Röttgen told daily Bild for an article published on Monday.

Spahn, who hopes to take the reins of the CDU when Merkel relinquishes them at the end of the year, has called for further debate on the pact when the party convenes to choose its next boss in December. Other members of the CDU have also criticized Germany's participation in the pact, which was set for ratification in December and in part "intends to reduce the risks and vulnerabilities migrants face at different stages of migration," according to the UN.

The pact calls for nations to take voluntary measures to help improve the conditions in migrants' countries of origin that are frequently cited as the primary motivators of emigration, as well as to help destination countries better assimilate migrants and provide them with sustainable conditions. Its 23 objectives, in the UN's words, strive "to create conducive conditions that enable all migrants to enrich our societies through their human, economic and social capacities, and thus facilitate their contributions to sustainable development at the local, national, regional and global levels."

'The populist hysteria'

Perhaps inspiring the rogue members of Merkel's coalition of the CDU, Social Democrats and Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), three of Germany's neighbors — Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria — and nearby Hungary, have already pulled out of the pact. But now the conflict is coming from within her party, representing yet another dispute among the nominally allied factions that have sought to steer Germany through a series of crises over the past five years.

"Striving for the right way in the party is always smart," Thomas Strobl, the CDU's second-in-command, told Bild. "With that in mind, it was clearly a mistake that the migration pact was not openly and positively advocated for early on."

Strobl said that "we should not allow ourselves to be driven mad by the populist hysteria of the right." He referenced the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has played on xenophobia for political gain, in adding that he was "absolutely opposed to the idea that, in fear of the misleading AfD campaign, we would execute even a partial withdrawal" from the agreement.

Those words may not be enough to convince the further-right elements of the uneasy alliance that currently governs Germany. As the CSU Bundestag deputy Peter Ramsauer, who opposes the pact, told daily Die Welt for an article published in Monday's edition, "throughout the entire document, there's a stance that sees migration as something normal and even desirable."

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



mkg/aw (Reuters, AFP, dpa)

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