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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, during which he was frequently referred to as the "right hand" of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Portrait on n-tv
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.Suneal Housely (19 August 2005), German election - the key players Financial Times. 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.Suneal Housely (19 August 2005), German election - the key players Financial Times.
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. Merkel ally sent packing in surprising parliamentary group leadership vote Deutsche Welle, 25 September 2018.
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. Früherer CDU-Fraktionschef Kauder kandidiert nicht wieder für den Bundestag Der Spiegel, 20 September 2019.
In response to increasing numbers of people leaving organized religion, Kauder also criticized the churches in Germany for not proselytizing enough. Sinkende Mitgliederzahlen Kauder liest Kirchen die Leviten, sueddeutsche.de, 24. August 2011 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.Judy Dempsey (28 February 2011), German Politicians Assail Turkish Leader Over Cultural Remarks International Herald Tribune.
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.Suneal Housely (19 August 2005), German election - the key players Financial Times. In September 2013, Claudia Roth of the Green Party criticized Kauder for his voting against the criminal liability of Marital rape in 1997.FAZ: Roth wirft Union Scheinheiligkeit vor, from 17. September 2013
In an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau in December 2010, Kauder argued against the LGBT adoption, his reasoning being that he doesn't "believe that children would like to get raised in a homosexual partnership."„ „Kinder wollen keine homosexuellen Eltern“ “ in Frankfurter Rundschau online, 19. December 2010, last accessed on 21. Dezember 2010 His position regarding this topic was explained by several German media outlets with his closeness to the evangelical organisation Deutsche Evangelische Allianz. Laizismus in Deutschland Die religiöse Zumutung, taz.de, 21. December 2010
When the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled the unequal treatment of Civil union and married couples regarding income splitting for spouses unconstitutional in May 2013, Kauder expressed that with his party, there will not be any equality of traditionally married couples and homosexual partnerships. In June 2017, he voted against Germany's introduction of same-sex marriage. Ehe für alle: So haben die Abgeordneten aus unserer Region abgestimmt Südkurier, 30 June 2017.
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."Gareth Jones (10 September 2012), ECB plan puts independence in question: senior Merkel MP Reuters.
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".Stephen Brown (9 April 2014), Merkel ally warns against 'wrong signal' to France on deficit Reuters.
In August 2014, Kauder called for the EU to adopt common Arms industry regulations, saying there would be an increasing number of European defense companies in the future, "especially German-French ones."Michelle Martin (17 August 2014), Senior Merkel ally calls for common European arms export rules Reuters.
In 2014, Kauder stated that the United States – through their military engagement in Iraq – “acquired a special responsibility for the country" and that "it's the Americans' task to deal with security in Iraq."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.
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.
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