CDU general secretary rejects approach to SPD on citizens' insurance

CDU General Secretary Franziska Hoppermann has rejected speculation about a possible rapprochement between the Union and the SPD on the subject of citizens' insurance. “Not with the CDU and certainly not with the CSU,” Hoppermann said in Politico’s “Berlin Playbook Podcast.”

Statements by Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) on the unequal treatment of private and health insurance patients should not be understood as a push for a restructuring of the health insurance system. “The Chancellor meant something different,” said Hoppermann. This refers to questions of patient management and waiting times for doctor's appointments. “But that has nothing to do with the basic structure of our health insurance.”

Merz also did not announce any specific reform. “He didn’t announce anything, but he said what issues we have to take care of because they affect people,” said Hoppermann.

After the election defeats of the Union and SPD in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the CDU politician pushed for faster reforms by the federal government. Pension reform has priority. The “very first thing” that needs to come is the pension bill, she said. The coalition is waiting to begin concrete consultation.

Hoppermann named the fight against welfare state abuse as another central project. After the election weekend, the CDU federal executive committee also discussed the question of whether people who have paid into social security should be treated differently at job centers than people who have not previously paid contributions. “This whole bouquet is something we need to deal with now.”