“The federal government should save personnel instead of inventing new taxes” – CDU base sounds the alarm before Merz meeting

According to district associations in Brandenburg, there is great dissatisfaction with the CDU-led federal government among the CDU base. They see federal politics as a reason for leaving the party. The alarm lamp is “dark red,” said CDU district leader Désirée Schrade from Frankfurt (Oder) to the dpa news agency. On Monday, the district chairmen of the CDU will meet with party leader and Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin.

"I would like to know from him how he imagines the future of our party. A solution is needed so that we can inspire people again," said Schrade. The chairman of the CDU district association Potsdam-Mittelmark, Christian Große, complained: “The mood is not good at the moment.” The expectations of many CDU members when they took over government responsibility were disappointed. There has been criticism of the course of the black-red coalition for a long time.

Große said that if politicians don't deliver, they will "clear the way for the populists." Municipalities were groaning under mountains of debt. “Citizens will notice that municipalities can no longer carry out their tasks.” Große demanded: “The federal government should start saving on personnel instead of inventing new taxes.” Große criticized the sugar tax and the planned plastic tax.

The CDU district chairman in Oberhavel and deputy parliamentary group leader in the state parliament, Frank Bommert, expressed his displeasure in a letter to Merz in September. He wrote: “We don’t need any further announcements, but rather decisions that actually resonate with the company and the people.”

District associations also feel the discontent when they leave the party. “When people leave the party, the reason is federal politics,” said Große. His CDU district association Potsdam-Mittelmark has around 610 members.

Schrade, chairwoman of the small CDU district association in Frankfurt (Oder), said: “There are already noticeable departures.” These are all justified by dissatisfaction with federal politics. With regard to the meeting with Merz at the district chairmen's conference, she said: "You can't throw a cloak of silence over it."

Schrade brings into play a separation of the Chancellery and the party leadership. It takes someone who has the strength to take care of the party. “If he doesn’t have that, he shouldn’t do it anymore,” she said, referring to Merz.

The CDU district chairman conference will take place on Monday and Tuesday in the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus and in the Bundestag in Berlin.