Merkel's courageous step: the break with Kohl that shook the CDU!

Merkel's courageous step: the break with Kohl that shook the CDU!

On December 22, 1999, a political earthquake occurred in Germany that shook the CDU. Angela Merkel, then General Secretary of the CDU, sent a shockwave-like “divorce letter” to former Chancellor Helmut Kohl in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung,” in which she said that the events acknowledged by Kohl had caused considerable damage to the party. This sentence not only represented Merkel's bold “all in”, but also marked a break with her former mentor, who had dominated the Union for years. This procedure happened shortly before a crucial meeting of the CDU presidium, at which the serious allegations from the donation affair were to be discussed, which plunged Kohl into a credibility crisis that was difficult to overcome WELT reported.

Cloak of deception

The donation scandal, which had already made headlines in the previous weeks, cast a shadow over the CDU's financial practices. Helmut Kohl admitted that he had accepted up to two million marks in cash donations between 1993 and 1998 without reporting this to the relevant authorities. While Kohl was not accused of personal enrichment, illegal party financing was a heavy burden on the party's integrity. Angela Merkel called for a comprehensive investigation into the allegations and thereby clearly demonstrated her own desire to clarify what was happening, which almost seemed like an act of liberation for Kohl. This led to her being elected as the new party leader just a few months later on April 10, 2000, when the CDU found itself in political shambles Wikipedia gives an overview.

In the years that followed, it became clear how crucial this day was for Merkel's political career. Her article became the initial spark for the CDU's realignment and marked the end of an era. Kohl, who until the end refused to reveal the names of major donors, was faced with the fate that his time as undisputed party leader came to an abrupt end. Merkel spoke of the need for the party to become independent of its former “warhorse” and pointed to the challenges of the future. This clear positioning separated them from the old structures and initiated their rise to the dominant political figure of the CDU when the nation needed a new order.