Düsseldorf (Germany), October 25 (DPA/EP) –
Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Armin Laschet on Monday resigned as prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, the country’s most populous state, to take up his position as a deputy in the lower house. Parliament (Bundestag) as soon as the new Legislative Council begins.
Laschet, the candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as head of the chancellorship, was forced to rethink his political career after the conservative disaster in the September elections. He would not continue as leader of the CDU, and upon joining the Bundestag, he would also cease to rule North Rhine-Westphalia due to the issue of incompatibility.
The head of the regional parliament, André Cooper, gave Laschet the document proving his dismissal, which also affects all members of his government. Joachim’s liberal character will take over temporarily – in principle for a day – while awaiting the announcement of the head of transport, conservative Hendrik Fust, as the new head of government.
“It has been a great honor for me to forge the future of our country and to present North Rhine-Westphalia in the past four years as prime minister,” Laschet said in a farewell address to his colleagues. On Tuesday, he will become a member of parliament called to ratify the first triumvirate in the history of German federal politics, with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) at the fore.
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