Divisions emerge as CDU meets to discuss leadership

Divisions emerged over the selection of a new German Christian Democratic opposition leader even before a meeting last night in Berlin to decide who should lead the CDU following the resignation on Wednesday of Dr Wolfgang Schauble.

The divisions concerned how quickly a successor should be chosen, with the CDU's Bavarian allies in the Christian Social Union (CSU) calling for a decision to be delayed until after a state election in Schleswig-Holstein on February 27th.

Dr Schauble was the CDU parliamentary leader as well as party chairman, but the two posts are unlikely to go to a single candidate on this occasion. The party's finance spokesman, Mr Friedrich Merz (44), looked almost certain yesterday to become parliamentary leader next week.

A former judge who, at 6 6["], towers over all other Bundestag deputies, Mr Merz is a fiscal and social conservative who has won broad admiration for his strong grasp of policy detail.

But the race for the more important position of party chairman remained open, with the party's 45-year-old general secretary, Dr Angela Merkel, emerging as an early front-runner. An estimated 60 per cent of CDU parliamentarians were yesterday backing Ms Merkel, who was among the first leading Christian Democrats to call on the party to distance itself from the former chancellor, Dr Helmut Kohl.

As a woman from eastern Germany, Dr Merkel has obvious attractions for a party that relies too heavily on the support of western, male voters. But these qualities, along with the fact that she is a Protestant, could make Dr Merkel an unacceptable leader for many conservative Christian Democrats.

The Bavarian Prime Minister, Mr Edmund Stoiber, who leads the CSU, was lukewarm about Dr Merkel yesterday, stressing that a new leader must be able to unite all wings of the party. He suggested that the CDU should delay choosing a leader until they had agreed on an entire front bench, which could be appointed as "a package".

One consideration behind the Bavarians' wish to slow down the selection procedure is the fact that the former defence minister, Mr Volker Ruhe, who is popular among conservatives, is unavailable as a candidate until after the election in Schleswig-Holstein, where he leads the local CDU.

Some Christian Democrats favour an interim leader such as Mr Bernhard Vogel, the 67-yearold Prime Minister of the eastern state of Thuringia. Mr Vogel has successfully avoided causing offence to any of the feuding factions in the party during the funding scandal that has led to the current crisis.

But younger party members argue that, if the CDU is to rescue its reputation in time to avert electoral disaster in Schleswig-Holstein and, three months later, in North Rhine-Westphalia, the party must choose a fresh, new leadership team that is untainted by the poisoned legacy of Dr Kohl.

The former chancellor's reputation received a further blow yesterday when the government of the Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, revealed that files relating to two controversial deals approved by Dr Kohl are more incomplete than previously acknowledged.

Most official documents relating to the takeover of an eastern German oil refinery by the French company Elf Aquitaine have disappeared from the Chancellery. Dr Kohl has denied an allegation that the former French president, Mr Francois Mitterrand, channelled millions of pounds into CDU funds at the time the deal was approved.

Files relating to the sale of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia have also gone missing. An arms dealer involved in the contract paid DM1 million to the CDU shortly after it was approved.

CDU leaders said last night after an emergency meeting of the party's executive board they would not rush to replace Mr Schauble.

"The last thing we need now is to be hectic," said Mr Ruhe. "This is a big decision for us and it has to last," he said.