The preparation of a left-wing alliance in Berlin is infuriating the CDU and CSU. At the Junge Union's Germany Day, concrete consequences are called for - including those for a new firewall.
Bonn. After the agreement between the Left, the Greens and the SPD in Berlin on coalition negotiations, the Union is threatening consequences at the federal level. CSU boss Markus Söder supported a resolution by the Junge Union, which calls for the state government to be excluded from information from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Federal Criminal Police Office in the event of a left-wing alliance in the capital.
“If you talk about firewalls, then you need one to the left,” said the Bavarian Prime Minister at the Junge Union’s Germany Day in Bonn. “Germany must not be identified as the leader with such forces.”
The Left, the Greens and the SPD in Berlin agreed in their exploratory talks on Saturday to start coalition negotiations. At the end of its Germany Day, the Junge Union responded with a unanimously passed motion that, in addition to the exclusion of security-relevant information, contains four other demands:
Fundamental “social ostracism” of the left-wing alliance, which represents a “cultural break”.
Establishment of a committee to document possible breaches and perversions of the law by a red-green-red state government.
Immediate implementation of the planned ban on the socialization planned by the Red-Green-Red by federal law.
Söder clearly supported the decision. It is “absolutely necessary,” said the Bavarian Prime Minister. The formation of a “Red Front” in Berlin would be a “new fall from grace”.
On Saturday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz also warned against a red-green-red alliance - and received the strongest applause in his 53-minute speech. “Anyone who wants to strengthen the political center must not have conversations with left-wing radicals,” he shouted. “Stop going down this path.” That was shortly before the agreement on the coalition negotiations in Berlin.
Merz gave the slogan “Freedom instead of extremism”. CDU General Secretary Franziska Hoppermann also used the slogan based on the election campaign slogan “Freedom instead of Socialism” from the 1970s.
Merz had already said weeks ago that a left-wing alliance in Berlin could also become a burden for the black-red federal government. The Union is demanding that the federal SPD stop preparations for this.
The chairman of the Junge Union, Johannes Winkel, said that if the SPD in the federal government does not work together with the Union to oppose socialization, “then we have a very fundamental problem in the coalition”.
Many in the CDU/CSU are of the opinion that an alliance with the Left in Berlin violates the black-red coalition agreement. It says: “The coalition partners exclude any cooperation with anti-constitutional, anti-democratic and right-wing extremist parties at all political levels.” The Union considers the Left in Berlin to be left-wing extremist and accuses it of anti-Semitic tendencies and proximity to the clan milieu.
The Germany Day of the youth organization of the CDU and CSU with its around 90,000 members came to an end on Sunday afternoon after three days. Merz and Söder promised full implementation of the pension compromise with the SPD in July - including the controversial abolition of the pension without deductions after 45 years of contributions.
“I would like us to implement the pension commission’s reform proposals as they are on the table,” promised Merz. In doing so, the Chancellor opposed requests for changes from the SPD, but also from the three East German CDU Prime Ministers, regarding the so-called pension at 63.
The Union wants a cabinet decision on pension reform this year, said Merz about the further timetable. The first reading in the Bundestag should take place before the turn of the year and the final vote at the beginning of next year.
Despite the conciliatory outcome of Germany Day, there was a delicate moment for the Chancellor. During the question and answer session, a delegate asked him to resign because his announcements were not followed by action. Merz ignored this in his answer and simply emphasized the importance of a stable government.
The JU chairman Winkel stepped in to help him. “The trust that has been lost cannot be restored by running away now, but above all by making decisions now.” That's what matters now. And when it comes to implementing decisions, “then you have us at your side,” said Winkel.
The question now is whether Merz can push through the pension reform despite the resistance of his coalition partner. If not, there could be another conflict with the Junge Union, which has 20 members of the Bundestag. This means she has enough votes to block Bundestag resolutions. The coalition only has a majority of twelve votes.
