Since the failed 2021 election campaign, little had been heard from Armin Laschet for a long time. Now, however, the CDU politician is once again a welcome guest in the various discussion groups as a former candidate for chancellor and ex-party chairman. With “Caren Misoga”, however, Laschet talks less about his own past experiences – and prefers to use the opportunity to position himself for the future.
It's about possible ways out of the war in Ukraine, but also about the end of the Assad regime in Syria and Russia's obvious weakening as a result: topics that require a lot of foreign policy knowledge and are guaranteed to keep Germany's next foreign minister busy for a while. What is the probability that his name will be Armin Laschet?
Armin Laschet at Miosga: The new Trump understander
Armin Laschet uses the Sunday hour at “Caren Miosga” to present himself as a potentially suitable candidate in a Merz cabinet. After all, the former Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia now not only sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag, but is also a member of the Atlantic Bridge – an association that was founded to maintain the economic, financial and military connections between Germany and the USA as best as possible. With Donald Trump's second reign, this goal will become extremely important.
But Laschet can't just do it in the USA. French President Emanuel Macron? “I know him,” says Laschet, pointing to the importance of German-French solidarity within Europe – with a small swipe at the SPD: “This German-French relationship doesn’t seem to be that important to the current Federal Chancellor, and that’s damaging.”
Laschet also resolutely positioned himself against NATO membership for Ukraine: “There is no need to discuss it further,” because a US government under Trump would not allow this. And without the USA, securing Ukraine against Russia in the event of peace would be inconceivable, because “I don't trust Germany and France, Belgium and Holland to do that alone,” emphasizes Laschet.
Does Laschet still have something good with Merz?
Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz has not yet provided his shadow cabinet with candidate names. But perhaps he will remember in time that his party colleague Laschet – after initial disputes over his candidacy – brought him into discussion as a possible super minister in 2021. Maybe there is still a score to settle.
This Sunday, Miosga refrained from asking Laschet about his personal goals in the near future. He might have responded with his typical, slightly mischievous grin. If the appointment as Foreign Minister actually works, Laschet will still have to work on his poker face: not allowing himself to be seen ahead of time is an important prerequisite for the job.
