Three badly lost state elections in a row, poll numbers below 20 percent and a clearly ailing Chancellor and party leader Friedrich Merz: At its leadership retreat in Berlin, the CDU is looking for a way out of one of the most serious crises in its 80-year history.
The party's leadership also includes the Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Gordon Schnieder. In the ARD report from Berlin, he said that in order to get back on the offensive, the party would have to seriously address how the past few months have gone.
"That was a promise that must be kept"
In the coalition agreement, the federal government promised, among other things, cheap energy for everyone. “We have also enforced the industrial electricity price through state aid law, but we have not managed to take small and medium-sized businesses with us and we have not managed to implement this cheap energy for everyone in the country. That destroys trust,” said Schnieder. “And these are points that we have to talk about openly and now implement.”
The electricity tax must be reduced, “for everyone, as was promised in the coalition agreement,” demanded Schnieder. "That was a promise that must be kept and I will never tire of demanding it in the future."
Schnieder: When it comes to the pension package, it's the political groups' turn
There is also a problem in the black-red coalition when it comes to pensions. SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch now wants to involve the parliamentary groups and state heads of government in order to resolve blockades. The core of the dispute revolves around the end of the pension without deductions after 45 years of contributions. A pension commission set up by the government had suggested abolition, but there was resistance from parts of the SPD.
In his role as CDU Prime Minister, however, Schnieder rejected the SPD's proposal: It was not the job of the state leaders to "do the work of the SPD parliamentary group leader," said Schnieder in the report from Berlin. "There was a coalition committee, there is a coalition agreement and an agreement was reached at the level, the package was introduced and it is now in the parliamentary process."
The system no longer works and needs to be redesigned. "We need contribution stability - at best a reduction in contributions, and we need the clear perspective that pension provision will be secured. That's why we have to get there." Details can still be discussed, "but now the parliamentary groups are called upon - and therefore Mr. Miersch is also called upon to get this sorted out with his parliamentary group."
Miersch defends his advance
Also in the report from Berlin, Miersch defended his initiative. The pension reform was "one of the decisive packages". You can see that the prime ministers in particular have an important role to play in the political process. It's about building a stable foundation and passing a law.
The SPD politician also pointed out that the CDU Prime Minister and Markus Söder from the CSU could contribute with suggestions. "And that's the idea behind it. And I don't think it should be dismissed so easily at this point," he said of his initiative.
“We have to stop discussing people”
Even if the personnel debate surrounding Chancellor Merz has died down somewhat, the situation remains dicey for him. The ailing party leader tries to regain lost trust at the retreat. If Schnieder had his way, then personnel disputes should be a thing of the past: "We have to stop discussing people. Personnel disputes are a guarantee that you will no longer be elected and will no longer be considered credible."
For months, the party has only been talking about reforms and austerity packages, said Schnieder. "But we have to go back to people's everyday lives. Listen and understand that at the end of the money there is still a lot to come. That many people don't know how they are going to pay for heating oil before winter, that the cost of living is rising, but wages have not risen in recent years. These are the problems, and we have to deal with them now instead of talking about personal details."
