Berlin - One of the front runners in the race to lead Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU) bowed out yesterday, saying that the new leader should be chosen from among the prime ministers of the federal states. The former defence minister, Mr Volker Ruhe, who had the support of many on the right of the party, told Focus magazine that the new leader should not be part of the parliamentary front bench, writes Denis Staunton.
"The parliamentary leader always has to make compromises, including with the CSU (the Christian Democrats' Bavarian sister party). But the party chairman must be able to represent the interests of the CDU alone. That works best if he is not a member of the parliamentary party but a prime minister," he said.
Mr Ruhe's remarks came as further details emerged about an initiative undertaken in recent weeks by the former chancellor, Dr Helmut Kohl, to raise millions of pounds for the party. Dr Kohl is believed to have raised DM6 million u (£2.4 million) from rich donors to compensate the CDU for fines imposed on the party as a result of his own illegal fundraising during his years in office. Among the new donors are the head of the administrative board of Nestle, Mr Helmut Maucher, and the film producer Artur Brauner. But Dr Kohl has given no indication that he is prepared to name anonymous donors from whom he received funds during the 1990s. An opinion poll released yesterday showed that most Christian Democrats want the party's general secretary, Dr Angela Merkel, to become their new leader. But many on the right of the party would prefer an older, transitional figure such as Saxony's 70-year old prime minister, Mr Kurt Biedenkopf.