Volker Kauder

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Volker Kauder
Kauder in 2015
Leader of the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag
In office
21 November 2005 – 25 September 2018
First DeputyPeter Ramsauer
Hans-Peter Friedrich
Gerda Hasselfeldt
Alexander Dobrindt
Chief WhipNorbert Röttgen
Peter Altmaier
Michael Grosse-Brömer
Preceded byAngela Merkel
Succeeded byRalph Brinkhaus
General Secretary of the Christian Democratic Union
In office
22 December 2004 – 5 December 2005
LeaderAngela Merkel
Preceded byLaurenz Meyer
Succeeded byRonald Pofalla
Chief Whip of the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag
In office
17 October 2002 – 25 January 2005
LeaderAngela Merkel
Preceded byHans-Peter Repnik
Succeeded byNorbert Röttgen
Member of the Bundestag
for Rottweil – Tuttlingen
In office
20 December 1990 – 26 October 2021
Preceded byFranz Sauter
Succeeded byMaria-Lena Weiss
Personal details
Born (1949-09-03) 3 September 1949 (age 75)
Hoffenheim, West Germany
Political partyChristian Democratic Union
SpouseElisabeth Biechele
EducationUniversity of Freiburg

Volker Kauder (born 3 September 1949) is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as parliamentary group leader of the ruling CDU/CSU faction in the German Bundestag from 2005 to 2018,[1] during which he was frequently referred to as the "right hand" of Chancellor Angela Merkel.[2]

Political career

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Career in state politics

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Kauder was born in Hoffenheim. A student of the Hegau-Gymnasium in Singen, he became a member of Junge Union in the age of 17. In 1991, he became Secretary General of Baden-Württemberg CDU and subsequently served as the party's campaign manager for the state elections in 1992, 1996 and 2001. He served in this office until the resignation of party chairman Erwin Teufel in 2005.

Career in national politics

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A trained lawyer, Kauder has been a member of the German Bundestag since the 1990 elections, representing the town of Rottweil in southwestern Germany (Rottweil – Tuttlingen).[3] In parliament, he first served on the Committee on Labour and Social Affairs. Between 1998 and 2002, he led the Bundestag group of CDU parliamentarians from Baden-Württemberg. In this capacity, he publicly endorsed Edmund Stoiber as the joint CDU/CSU candidate for the 2002 national elections.[4]

Kauder later served as First Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group from 2002 until 2005, under the leadership of the group's then-chairwoman Angela Merkel.

In early 2005, Merkel nominated Kauder as Secretary General of the CDU, after his predecessor Laurenz Meyer was forced to quit over payments he had received from his past employment with RWE, the power company.[5] Ahead of the 2005 federal elections, he became Merkel's confidante and campaign coordinator while spearheading CDU proposals to increase VAT by 2 per cent to fund non-wage labour cost-cutting.[6]

Following his party's victory in the elections, Kauder was elected chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag. He led the group with changing co-chairs from the CSU, Peter Ramsauer (2005–09), Hans-Peter Friedrich (2009–11), Gerda Hasselfeldt (2011-2018), and Alexander Dobrindt (2017-2018). Since 2005, he has served on the Committee on the Election of Judges (Wahlausschuss), which is in charge of appointing judges to the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany.

In the negotiations to form a coalition government following the 2013 federal elections, Kauder was part of the 15-member leadership circle chaired by Angela Merkel, Horst Seehofer and Sigmar Gabriel.

In a surprising vote among members of the CDU/CSU group in September 2018, Kauder was ousted after 13 years as chair. His deputy Ralph Brinkhaus received 125 votes to Kauder's 112 in a secret ballot.[7]

In 2019, Kauder announced that he would not stand in the 2021 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.[8]

Political positions

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Volker Kauder in the German Bundestag, 2014

Social policy

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Kauder is strictly against recognizing Islam as an equal religion within Germany. In an interview with news magazine Der Spiegel, he replied to the question if Islam is a part of Germany with: "No, Muslims are a part of Germany, Islam is not."[9] In 2012, he told daily newspaper Passauer Neue Presse: "Islam is not part of our tradition and identity in Germany and so does not belong in Germany."[10] He also appealed to Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), which represents more than 70 percent of Muslims living in Germany, to make clear to its members that Germany's constitution and law were above religion.[11]

In response to increasing numbers of people leaving organized religion, Kauder also criticized the churches in Germany for not proselytizing enough.[12] In 2011, he condemned Turkey's record on religious freedom and suggested that EU accession talks with Turkey should be suspended until the country supports the rights of Christians to ordain priests.[13]

Kauder raised eyebrows in January 2005 when he compared draft anti-discrimination legislation to Nazi and Communist laws, arguing that the legislation would require people to hold the same political attitudes.[14] In September 2013, Claudia Roth of the Green Party criticized Kauder for his voting against the criminal liability of rape within a marriage in 1997.[15]

In an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau in December 2010, Kauder argued against the right of adoption for homosexual couples, his reasoning being that he doesn't "believe that children would like to get raised in a homosexual partnership."[16] His position regarding this topic was explained by several German media outlets with his closeness to the evangelical organisation Deutsche Evangelische Allianz.[17]

When the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled the unequal treatment of registered civil partnerships and married couples regarding income splitting for spouses unconstitutional in May 2013,[18] Kauder expressed that with his party, there will not be any equality of traditionally married couples and homosexual partnerships.[19] In June 2017, he voted against Germany's introduction of same-sex marriage.[20]

European integration

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Kauder's criticism of British opposition to the introduction of a financial transaction tax, to curb speculative trading in financial markets, was seized upon by British media in 2011 as an indication of a dire confrontation between the two governments of Germany and the United Kingdom.[21] He courted controversy the same year when he declared, in the context of ongoing European austerity measures, that, "Suddenly Europe is speaking German."[22]

In 2012, Kauder criticized the European Central Bank's measures to buy the debt of troubled eurozone states that request a European bailout and fulfill strict domestic policy conditions, arguing that "the ECB has reached the border of what is permitted, also because it is moving into the area of state financing."[23]

In discussions on whether there would be a renegotiation of France's 2015 deadline for bringing its deficit in line with the EU Stability and Growth Pact’s limit of 3 percent, Kauder said in a parliamentary debate that it was "high time that everyone understood that we must uphold the rules that we have adopted as law".[24]

In August 2014, Kauder called for the EU to adopt common arms export regulations, saying there would be an increasing number of European defense companies in the future, "especially German-French ones."[25]

Transatlantic relations

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Reacting to revelations about NSA surveillance activities in Germany in 2013, Kauder blamed the United States for a "grave breach of trust" and demanded it should drop its "global power demeanor."[26] However, he did not want a publicly accessible investigation into the claims of US surveillance of chancellor Merkel's mobile phone, insisting that only a secretly operating committee can effectively handle the issue.[27]

In 2014, Kauder stated that the United States – through their military engagement in Iraq – “acquired a special responsibility for the country" and that "[i]t's the Americans' task to deal with security in Iraq."[28]

Regarding the latest developments of the Euro crisis in Greece, Kauder stated in June 2015 that an essential condition for granting further financial aids for Greece would be that the IMF would be involved in the process as well, not only as a consultant but also financially.

Corruption

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Kauder has voted no on legislative proposals against parliamentary corruption; he did so again in spring 2013.[29]

Smoking

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According to health politician Karl Lauterbach (SPD), Kauder was the driving force blocking a ban of smoking that Germany already in 2004 committed to the World Health Organization to introduce until 2010.[30]

Religious affiliation

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Kauder is a confessing evangelical and has expressed his trust in the bible.[31] He also supports persecuted Christians in other countries.[32]

Other activities

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Recognition

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Controversy

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In 2015, Kauder provoked fury among fellow conservatives by proposing that MPs from the CDU/CSU parliamentary group who dissent on Greek bailout votes should be punished, warning that lawmakers should not expect positions on important parliamentary committees if they broke ranks.[35] He was vocal in his disapproval of the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's rejection of offers throughout the negotiation process.[36]

References

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  1. ^ "Zur Person". 16 October 2018.
  2. ^ Portrait on n-tv
  3. ^ Patrick Donahue and Arne Delfs (13 August 2013), Merkel Ally Kauder Says Germany Unable to Stop U.K. Exit From EU Bloomberg.
  4. ^ Der neue CDU-General hat seinen Traumjob Rheinische Post, 24 January 2005.
  5. ^ Suneal Housely (19 August 2005), German election - the key players Financial Times.
  6. ^ Suneal Housely (19 August 2005), German election - the key players Financial Times.
  7. ^ Merkel ally sent packing in surprising parliamentary group leadership vote Deutsche Welle, 25 September 2018.
  8. ^ Früherer CDU-Fraktionschef Kauder kandidiert nicht wieder für den Bundestag Der Spiegel, 20 September 2019.
  9. ^ Pfister, René (6 May 2011), "SPIEGEL-GESPRÄCH-Das schmerzt", Der Spiegel, 13 September, no. 19
  10. ^ Madeline Chambers (19 April 2012), Merkel ally says Islam not part of Germany[dead link] Reuters.
  11. ^ Caroline Copley and Sabine Siebold (7 August 2016), Politicians concerned over Ankara's influence on Turks in Germany Reuters.
  12. ^ Sinkende Mitgliederzahlen Kauder liest Kirchen die Leviten, sueddeutsche.de, 24. August 2011
  13. ^ Judy Dempsey (28 February 2011), German Politicians Assail Turkish Leader Over Cultural Remarks International Herald Tribune.
  14. ^ Suneal Housely (19 August 2005), German election - the key players Financial Times.
  15. ^ FAZ: Roth wirft Union Scheinheiligkeit vor, from 17. September 2013
  16. ^ „„Kinder wollen keine homosexuellen Eltern“ Archived 14 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine“ in Frankfurter Rundschau online, 19. December 2010, last accessed on 21. Dezember 2010
  17. ^ Laizismus in Deutschland Die religiöse Zumutung, taz.de, 21. December 2010
  18. ^ "Bundesverfassungsgericht - Entscheidungen - Verfassungswidrigkeit des Ausschlusses eingetragener Lebenspartner vom Ehegattensplitting im Einkommensteuerrecht - Ungleichbehandlung der Lebenspartnerschaft gegenüber der Ehe im Einkommensteuerrecht ohne sachliche Rechtfertigung". 7 May 2013.
  19. ^ "Union will steuerliche Gleichbehandlung für Homo-Paare". 7 June 2013.
  20. ^ Ehe für alle: So haben die Abgeordneten aus unserer Region abgestimmt Südkurier, 30 June 2017.
  21. ^ Quentin Peel (18 November 2011), Cameron and Merkel bury differences Financial Times.
  22. ^ "'Now Europe Is Speaking German': Merkel Ally Demands that Britain 'Contribute' to EU Success". Spiegel Online. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  23. ^ Gareth Jones (10 September 2012), ECB plan puts independence in question: senior Merkel MP Reuters.
  24. ^ Stephen Brown (9 April 2014), Merkel ally warns against 'wrong signal' to France on deficit Reuters.
  25. ^ Michelle Martin (17 August 2014), Senior Merkel ally calls for common European arms export rules Reuters.
  26. ^ Annika Breidthardt (27 October 2013), German paper says Obama aware of spying on Merkel since 2010 Reuters.
  27. ^ "Union lehnt Untersuchungsausschuss zu NSA-Spähskandal ab". Der Spiegel. 26 October 2013.
  28. ^ John Vinocur (23 June 2014), The West at its Worst: America is weak, Europe is afraid, and the brutal men in Iraq and Iran all know it. Wall Street Journal.
  29. ^ Gesetz gegen Abgeordneten-Korruption: Ausgebremst vom eigenen Bruder, by Robert Roßmann, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 8. April 2013
  30. ^ "Kinder sind Goldstaub für die Tabakindustrie", Claus Hecking, Spiegel Online, 23 April 2018
  31. ^ Evangelikale als eine Macht in der deutschen Politik, Die Welt, 11 August 2009
  32. ^ Kauder im Kampf gegen die Christenverfolgung, Tagesspiegel, 6 September 2011
  33. ^ Board of Trustees Jewish Museum Berlin.
  34. ^ "Rede: Ordensverleihung an Volker Kauder". Der Bundespräsident (in German). 22 April 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  35. ^ Stephen Brown (10 August 2015), Merkel aide cracks down on bailout rebels Politico.
  36. ^ Eric, Kirschbaum. "German party leader accuses Greek finance minister of 'trying to divide Europe'". Reuters. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Secretary General of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairman of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group
2005–2018 		Succeeded by