Challange: Manfred Rommel Chancellor of West Germany

Simple make the July 20th Plot succed, Rommel's name was on the list of people in government if the plot succeded and it is possible he could have become president that way.
 
Manfred, not Erwin

First of all, you must not confuse Erwin Rommel, the desert fox, with his son Manfred (born in 1928) who was quite well-known for a mayor back in the 1980s.

If I understand it correctly, Rommel tried to become Ministerpräsident (Governor) of Baden-Württemberg when Filbinger withdrew from office. The party favoured Lothar Späth, though.

So ,this should be the first POD.

In the late 1980s, before the wall fell, Helmut Kohl's position as chancellor was undermined within his own party. Lothar Späth was most prominent among them. Kohl, however, managed to keep his grip on the party.

If Rommel succeeds in leading an inner-party revolt against Kohl - he might end up Bundeskanzler by 1987 or 1988. IMHO, this is the only point where Manfred Rommel stands a chance to become Bundeskanzler.

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What is meant by "vice-chair under Franz-Josef Strauss?"

-he cannot be vice-chairman of Strauss' party as CDU and CSU (which is restricted to Bavaria whereas the CDU keeps out of it) are two parties
-he could possibly not be vice-chancellor of a Bundeskanzler Strauss (who lost the election of 1980), as Strauss would have needed the FDP to form a coalition government. They would have had the post of Vice-Chancellor, which is, in Germany, of virtually no meaning but protocolary. The vice-chancellor will not automatically become chancellor for the rest of the term if the chancellor dies or becomes unable to fulfill his or her duties in any other way. The Bundestag would elect a new Bundeskanzler.
 
I honestly don't remember, it was late at night, but I think I meant Chairman of the CDU B-W and Minister President...or as Vice-Chairman of the CDU under Kohl...

No problem. :eek:

Eh, in any case, that reminds me...why was an alliance between Franz Josef Strauss and the FDP impossible in 1980?

It was not impossible- the numbers, as usual, turned the FDP into the balancing factor.

1. My impression, though, is, that the FDP favoured Schmidt, with whom they had worked for six years now, over Strauss who had a very conservative image.

2. Also, the FDP gained a lot of CDU/CSU voters who were alienated by Strauss.

3. The split in the Social-Liberal coalition two years later was in my opinion a consequence of the recession of the early 80s where both parties' concepts differed and Schmidt losing grip of the SPD.

If there Strauss would still become Bundeskanzler of a CDU/CSU/FDP-coalition, Ministerpräsident Rommel might be a good choice as Finanzminister (instead of Stoltenberg).

If Strauss gets re-elected in '84 he might die just days before the election of '88 (elections of 76 and 80 were in early October, 83 was an irregularity to that), Strauss died on October 1st, 1988...
 
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